Children of the Dark - Year 5
by cleotheo
Summary: It's fifth year for the trio, and it's finally time for Voldemort to strike and get rid of Dumbledore. But before that changes are afoot in the wizarding world. It's time for a new Minister of Magic, and of course, a new Defence Professor. Then of course there's the matter of one final year undercover for the trio. Dark Harry! Dark Hermione! Part five of a seven part series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Here it is, year 5 of Children of the Dark. This year is when things start to change dramatically. There's a few bits similar to the books, but from now this story is heading off into totally new territory.**

 **With the break I took over Christmas, and the fact I'm still writing other things at the same time, year 5 is still not finished, therefore I can't say how many chapters it's going to be. Because it's not finished, and because I don't want to have to wait several months' in-between future years, this year will only be published twice a week – on Monday and Thursday.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

In the conservatory of Malfoy Manor, Voldemort was holding a conference with his family and most trusted friends, the Malfoys. Now the Dark Lord was back, and had spent the previous year building up his forces again, it was time to discuss his rise to power. Over the last year a few things had been discussed, but it was time to make some final decisions.

"We'll start with Dumbledore," Voldemort announced. "You already know how I want to deal with him."

"All we have to do is find a way to get you and a selection of your Death Eaters into school," Severus Snape, Voldemort's son, said. "Do you have any idea how you're going to do that?"

"For that, I think we're going to need some help," Voldemort replied, his gaze switching to the window where he could see his daughter, his grandson and Draco Malfoy sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. "I have an idea, but I'm going to need Harry, Hermione and Draco to help me out."

"I'm sure they'll be thrilled to help," Beth, his wife, remarked with a chuckle. The three teenagers had wanted to be part of the conversation currently going on, but it had been decided they would be brought up to date once more decisions were made.

"I'm sure they will," Voldemort agreed. "However, we will need a back-up plan in case they fail. I want Dumbledore gone this year. The old man has more than outstayed his welcome. With him gone, there'll be no opposition to my plans to take over."

"What about the Ministry and Fudge?" Narcissa Malfoy asked.

"Lucius?" Voldemort turned to one of his most loyal Death Eaters.

"Fudge may be disillusioned with Dumbledore at the moment, but he won't back you over him," Lucius Malfoy replied. "As long as he's in power, we're going to have problems."

"Then he's coming out of power," Voldemort announced with determination. "We'll replace him with one of our men. Who would you recommend Lucius?"

"You want someone loyal to you, as well as someone who's already got leverage within the Ministry," Lucius mused. "We also want someone you can be sure will do what you want. You don't want to back someone for Minister and then have them turning rogue. I think I know the perfect man, and I think I know how to persuade him to throw his hat into the fray."

"Do tell Lucius," Voldemort urged. "Who do you have in mind?"

"Bernard Nott," Lucius replied. "He's already a Death Eater, not to mention a senior official in the Ministry. I've known him a long time, and his loyalty is with us."

"And how are you going to persuade him to run for Minister?" Voldemort asked.

"We'll start with this hearing of Dumbledore's," Lucius began. Given events of the previous year, he'd managed to convince Fudge to seriously look at Dumbledore's post of Headmaster, however with what Voldemort had planned, he wasn't going to push for the old man to be sacked. "We all know, he's not going to get the sack, but I can tell him that's what I was pushing for. Together we can gather a group of disgruntled parents, unhappy with Dumbledore remaining as head, and I can persuade them that what we need is a new Minister. One who's willing to make changes at Hogwarts. A few well-placed incidents can undermine Fudge's position as Minister, and I can persuade Bernard to take up the position. With a bit of luck, he'll be in place before we bring down Dumbledore."

"Excellent," Voldemort beamed at Lucius. "I'll leave that in your capable hands, Lucius. Just as long as Nott's willing to go along with whatever I decided regarding policies and such."

"He will," Lucius said with confidence. "Bernard knows where his loyalties lie."

"Another of my plans will also help discredit Fudge," Voldemort added. "Sometime soon, we need a breakout from Azkaban. I've got a lot of loyal supporters in there."

"Including her," Beth spat. "Don't tell me you're releasing her."

"Now, now, Beth, that's no way to talk about Narcissa's sister," Voldemort said to his wife.

With a grimace, Beth turned to face her friend. "Sorry Narcissa, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just worried about Bellatrix."

"I understand," Narcissa said with a reassuring smile. "In your shoes, I would be wary of her also."

"I can handle Bellatrix," Voldemort insisted.

"You mean, like you did before?" Beth snorted. "She went completely off the rails, and there was nothing you could do about it. She was almost caught several times, before she messed up with the Longbottoms. It was just good luck that she didn't mention Hermione or Severus to anyone."

"Why do you think she didn't?" Voldemort questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Bella was rash, but she wasn't completely foolish. She knew better than to betray me, and I'm confident she can be trusted now."

"You better be right," Beth warned her husband. "If she puts Hermione in danger, I'll kill the bitch."

"Noted," Voldemort said with a smirk. He loved it when Beth showed her dark side, and he was half wishing they were alone so he could take advantage of how much it affected him. "Now, we've got Fudge and the breakout sorted. We also have plans for dealing with Dumbledore. Is there anything else?"

"What about the rest of the Order?" Severus asked. "They won't just roll over when Dumbledore's dead."

"No, they won't," Voldemort agreed with a nod. "But they will be broken. Not only will they have lost their leader, but they'll have lost Harry and Hermione as well. I'm sure we'll have to deal with some fall out from them, but I don't think it's anything we can't handle."

"And what about this prophecy Dumbledore keeps talking about?" Severus checked. "He's convinced Harry is some sort of saviour, whose destiny is to defeat you."

"I want a look at that," Voldemort said. "I should be able to do that once we have Nott in as Minister. Now, if everything's sorted, I think we should talk to the children. It's time they found out just what their fifth year will hold for them."

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

"This is so frustrating," Hermione Granger moaned, once again glaring at the manor. "I hate being excluded."

"To be fair, we're not being excluded, we're just waiting for them to make some decisions," Hermione's nephew, Harry Potter, pointed out.

"Yeah, they'll call us when they're ready for us," Draco Malfoy added. "Just relax and enjoy the sun, Hermione."

Knowing the boys were right and it was pointless to moan, Hermione settled back down on the rug that was spread out over the grass. With Hermione attempting to relax, Harry and Draco also lay back down. Lying in the sun, the trio chatted about what they thought could be happening in the manor. They'd already been disappointed to hear Lucius wasn't going to be pushing for Dumbledore to get fired, although they had been promised that he was going to be dealt with before the end of the year.

The conversation had drifted away from what was happening in the manor when Narcissa suddenly appeared beside the trio. When she announced the adults wanted to talk to them, the three teenagers were on their feet and heading towards the manor in a flash.

"Sit down and we'll explain what's going to happen," Voldemort said when the trio burst into the room.

Once everyone was settled down, Voldemort explained how the year was going to run. First Dumbledore would have his hearing, and although he would avoid being sacked, it would stir up discontent with Fudge. They were then going to use this discontent to push for a new Minister. While that was going on, Voldemort was going to break his followers out of Azkaban to boost his numbers. The breakout would be another nail in Fudge's coffin, and with pressure from Lucius he would lose his job and the dark would get a Minister appointed who they trusted.

"That all sounds great, but what about us?" Hermione pressed when her father paused for breath. "Severus made it sound as though our act was coming to an end."

"It is," Voldemort confirmed with a nod. "Sometime this year, I'm going to lead a raid on the school and we're going to kill Dumbledore."

"But it's O.W.L.S year," Hermione protested. "You can't ruin our exams."

"Fine, we can enter school after you've taken your exams," Voldemort said with a roll of his eyes.

"Dammit Hermione, we almost got out of taking exams there," Harry hissed.

"Exams are important," Hermione insisted. "I haven't spent the last four years working so hard, only to have everything be for nothing. I want my exams, both O.W.L.S and N.E.W.T.S."

"And you'll get them," Voldemort reassured his daughter. "There's ample time after the exams for us to make our presence felt."

"How are you going to get into school?" Harry asked. "Surely it would take an age to use the floo in Dad's office."

"You're right, it'll take too long to get everyone through the floo network without anyone getting suspicious," Severus said. "We need to find a different way into the school."

"Which is where you three come into things," Voldemort said. "I've got something I want to show you back home."

Getting to his feet, Voldemort pulled out his wand and disappeared with a crack. Less than a minute later, he reappeared with a wooden chest that looked like a wardrobe at his side.

"A wardrobe," Hermione muttered with disgust. "An ugly one at that."

"It's not a wardrobe, Hermione," Voldemort corrected. "It's a vanishing cabinet. Vanishing cabinets come in pairs, and I'm fairly sure the other one is in Hogwarts. All the spells I've cast on it, reveals its twin to be in Hogwarts. However, I have no idea where it's located."

"And you want us to find its twin," Draco deduced.

"I do," Voldemort replied with a nod. "Until we find its twin, we're unable to determine whether they're working or not. It's too risky to try travelling between them when we don't know where the other one is, or what state it's in."

"What happens when we find the second one?" Hermione asked.

"Alert Severus and he can check it out," Voldemort replied. "Once we're sure they work, we can use them to smuggle myself and several of my followers into school. We'll not set off any wards, and Dumbledore will have no idea how we've even entered the school grounds."

"That sounds great, but I'm not sure it's a good idea," Harry said warily. "Don't get me wrong, I want rid of Dumbledore, but I don't want innocent people to get hurt. We can't raid the school and start a fight with all those children present. Some of them will only be eleven and twelve."

"I'm not a complete monster Harry," Voldemort chuckled. "I have a plan. Our visit will be merely a warning. I'll give anyone who wants to join me the chance to do so, and we'll leave for a couple of days to give Dumbledore the chance to evacuate the school. We'll then come back and get rid of Dumbledore."

"You'll come back into an ambush," Hermione argued with a frown. "Dumbledore will get the Order ready for your return."

"We can handle the Order," Voldemort said confidently. "Our numbers are greater than Dumbledore's."

"What happens if Dumbledore discovers how you entered the school before you return?" Draco asked.

"That won't happen," Voldemort replied with a smirk. "Harry and Severus will see to that. They'll both be staying behind with Dumbledore, and they'll ensure we can get back when it's time to strike."

"And what about me?" Hermione asked. "What will I be doing?"

"You'll be leaving with me the first time I arrive," Voldemort announced. "You're going to stun the Order by revealing your true identity."

"That's great," Harry laughed wickedly. "They'll be in a right mess finding out Hermione's being lying to them."

"And then when they find out about you and Severus when we return, they'll be even more broken," Voldemort said, sharing a smirk with his grandson. "Without his precious Boy-Who-Lived, Dumbledore will be devastated. I'll be able to take him out and then we can deal with the rest of the Order. Even if they retreat, they'll need time to recover before they can even think about being a threat again. By the time they've regrouped, we'll have won. We'll have control of the Ministry, and then Hogwarts. All they can do is rebel, and we can snuff out rebellions as they happen."

"Then sixth year and seventh year we can be ourselves," Hermione concluded with a wide smile.

"That you can," Voldemort said with a grin. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Everything still needs to work out this year. It's going to be a big year, and everyone needs to be on the top of their game. Let's deal with this year, before we look to the future."

Hermione nodded in agreement, but she couldn't help but think about what lay ahead once they'd gotten rid of Dumbledore. Finally she could drop her act, finally she could go to Hogwarts as herself. Just knowing she only had a few more months to go with her good girl act made Hermione smile. Soon she could be herself, and there would be no more hiding for her ever again.


	2. Chapter 2

Striding along the corridor at the Ministry of Magic, Lucius mentally worked out his game plan for the upcoming meeting. He was about to attend a meeting with Fudge and Dumbledore to discuss the future of Hogwarts, and specifically Dumbledore's role as Headmaster. Given what Voldemort was planning, it was better that Dumbledore remained at Hogwarts, however Lucius didn't want it to appear as though that was what he wanted. He needed to give the impression he wanted Dumbledore out, all the time ensuring he managed to hang onto his job for a few more months.

Lucius knew the situation had to be handled carefully. As much as he disliked Dumbledore, he could acknowledge that the older wizard wasn't a complete fool. Granted his judgement was terrible, but he would immediately spot that something was wrong if Lucius suddenly changed his tune and stopped asking for him to be sacked. Lucius would just have to hope that Dumbledore still held greater sway over Fudge, and that the Headmaster would keep his position while he argued against it.

Arriving in Fudge's office, Lucius wasn't the slightest bit surprised to find Dumbledore already present. Even though Lucius himself was slightly early for the meeting, he suspected Dumbledore had been earlier still. No doubt the Headmaster was trying to ensure things went his way at the meeting.

"I trust you haven't started without me," Lucius remarked as he shook hands with Fudge and settled down around the table that had been moved into the centre of the Minister's office.

"Of course not Lucius," Fudge replied. "In fact, we're waiting for a colleague of mine to join us."

Right on cue there was a knock on the door and a squat witch, dressed in a shocking pink skirt suit, entered the room.

"This is Dolores Umbridge, my undersecretary," Fudge announced, getting to his feet to greet the witch. "Dolores, this is Albus Dumbledore and Lucius Malfoy."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Umbridge said, although the disdainful expression on her face when she shook hands with Dumbledore told another story.

"Dolores will be taking part in the meeting," Fudge said, although he didn't elaborate why he needed a colleague to sit in on the meeting. "So shall we begin?"

"I'd appreciate it," Dumbledore said. "I have things to do back up at Hogwarts."

Lucius raised an eyebrow at the Headmaster. "Aren't you being a bit presumptuous, Albus? When the meeting was agreed, your judgement was in doubt and things haven't improved since then, have they? After all, you had a convicted criminal teaching in Hogwarts last year."

"He was in disguise," Dumbledore argued. "Besides, wasn't it you who let him get away, Lucius?"

"He was perfectly secure when I last saw him," Lucius replied coolly.

"Let's not dwell on Crouch," Fudge said hastily. He was still embarrassed that he'd been overpowered by Barty Crouch and his criminal son had escaped. "The Aurors are still investigating his disappearance. I'm sure they'll provide us all the answers we need."

"I'm sure they will," Dumbledore agreed, giving Lucius a side long glace. He still believed the blond wizard was involved in Crouch's disappearance, he just couldn't prove it as like always, Lucius was a slippery customer and it was very hard to pin anything on him.

"So back to the matter in hand," Fudge said with a small cough, returning attention to the reason they were gathered in his office. "I have to say Albus, recent events have me seriously worried about Hogwarts. It's not just one incident, it's a litany of problems going back a good few years now."

"Draco's just finished his fourth year, and there's being an incident every year since he started at Hogwarts," Lucius said. "It does make me wonder if I made the right choice sending him to Hogwarts, and I know I'm not alone in that. I've spoken to a few other parents, and they're also worried about the safety of their children."

"The students of Hogwarts are perfectly safe," Dumbledore argued, determined to not let Lucius get under his skin. "I admit, we've had a few problems lately, but no-one was ever in danger."

"That's not the way I understand it," Umbridge interrupted with a mocking tone to her voice. "Last year, you had a Death Eater in the school. A Death Eater that entered an underage student into a deadly tournament. The year before that you had a werewolf and a half giant teaching classes. The year before, The Chamber of Secrets was opened and several students were petrified. Not to mention one girl came very close to death. Then the year before that, you had another of You-Know-Who's supporters in the school, along with a magical object that could have very easily lured The Dark Lord himself to Hogwarts. I'm sorry Headmaster, but I feel the students are far from safe under your care."

"If you put it like that it sounds bad," Dumbledore admitted. "But all those problems stem from the inability to find a decent Defence Professor. Ever since I refused the job to Voldemort, no-one's held the positon for more than a year."

"Are you seriously saying there's a curse on the position?" Lucius mocked. "Because from where I'm sitting these incidents have been down to your bad judgment."

"I have to agree with Lucius here," Fudge said before Dumbledore had a chance to reply. "Your judgement has not being very good lately, Albus. However, I cannot overlook the decades of superb leadership you bring to the table. You've been one of the best Headmaster's that Hogwarts has ever had."

"Thank you Cornelius," Dumbledore said, throwing a smug smirk in Lucius's direction.

"So that's it?" Lucius sneered in disgust. Even though he'd wanted Dumbledore to keep his job, he'd expected a bit more from the Minister in way of discussing recent problems at the school. "You acknowledge his judgement is off, but then praise him for all his work?"

"No, this is not it, Lucius," Fudge answered. "I do feel Albus's years of loyalty to the school are enough to warrant a second chance. However, I can't overlook recent events. That's why the Ministry are going to be taking a firmer interest in Hogwarts this year."

"What do you mean by taking a firmer interest?" Dumbledore asked in concern.

"I mean, we're going to appoint your new Defence Professor," Fudge announced. "Dolores had agreed to take the positon. While she's there, she'll be making a detailed study of the school and how it's run. We can then have another meeting next summer to see how we can move forward. I take it this will help alleviate your concerns, Lucius."

"It's a start," Lucius said, expertly hiding his smirk. He quite liked the idea of the Ministry placing a Professor in Hogwarts as he knew it would get up Dumbledore's nose. "But one mistake, and I demand a rethink."

"Fine," Fudge agreed with a nod. "We can rethink things if there's any problems, but for now I think we can all agree this is the best solution. We know the new Professor is trustworthy, and the Ministry gets a chance to see what changes need to be made at Hogwarts."

"I'm looking forward to the challenge," Umbridge said, smirking widely. "Don't worry Minister, by the time I'm finished, Hogwarts will be the shining beacon of education it should be."

Lucius was happy to note that Dumbledore seemed less than happy with the situation. It was clear Umbridge didn't like Dumbledore, and even without Voldemort's plans, Lucius knew the old man didn't have much longer at Hogwarts. Unfortunately for Dumbledore, he would be dead before Umbridge got the chance to sack him.

With the meeting over, Lucius left Fudge's office. Before he left the Ministry, he found Bernard Nott and invited him and his family over for dinner the following evening. Now things with Dumbledore were sorted, it was time to put the next part of their plan into action and convince Bernard Nott that he should run for Minister.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

Hermione looked down at the letter in her hand, and shared a resigned look with Harry, who was holding onto an almost identical letter. The letters had arrived that morning, and they'd brought them to the manor to show Draco.

"It's time," Harry said sombrely. "We have to face our fate."

"Yes, we do," Hermione replied, equally as solemn as her nephew.

"It can't be that bad," Draco said with a laugh. "You visited the Weasels last summer."

"We were there for a few days," Hermione argued. "And there was a trip to the World Cup included in those few days. This time they want us to go and stay with them for two whole weeks."

"Two?" Harry frowned, leaning over to see Hermione's letter. "Ron invited me to stay for three weeks."

"What?" Hermione snatched Harry's letter from his hands and scowled at it. "What's wrong with me? Why don't I get invited for three weeks?"

"Do you really want to spend three weeks with the Weasels?" Draco questioned with a grimace. "Hell, three days would be too much in my opinion."

"Of course I don't want to spend three weeks with them," Hermione argued. "I don't even want to spend two weeks with them. But I want to know why Harry gets a longer invite than me."

"I'm more likable than you," Harry replied with a smirk.

"That is not true," Hermione said with a pout. Glaring at her nephew, she turned to her boyfriend, knowing he would back her up. "Tell him Draco, he's not more likable is he?"

"He's less prickly than you," Draco admitted. "Personally, I think you're way more likable than Harry, not to mention how much hotter than him you are. But I can see why the Weasels prefer him. He's better at hiding his darkness, whereas you can be a bit snappy at times."

Hermione was caught between being annoyed and being flattered by her boyfriend. She was rather annoyed that Draco had called her prickly and snappy, but she couldn't help but be flattered that he thought she was hot.

"Draco does have a point," Harry added. "Be honest, you can be a bit snappish with Ron. You find this act harder to keep up than I do."

"I guess you have a point," Hermione conceded. Over the last four years she had been more standoffish with Ron than Harry had been.

"Well, I think we should try and get out of going for so long," Harry said. "At the very least, I'm not going anywhere without you. I'm not spending a whole extra week with the Weasleys."

"Two weeks doesn't sound appealing, but it's probably our best option," Hermione admitted. "We might find out something useful we can pass along to father."

"I guess so," Harry said with a nod. "But I'm still going to refuse to go earlier. I can make some excuse as to why I can only visit the last two weeks of the holidays."

"Now that's sorted, why don't we concentre on enjoying the beginning of the holidays," Draco suggested. "Father should be home soon with the results of Dumbledore's hearing."

"But we know the results, he's going to keep his job," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, but we can find out how Father protested," Draco argued. "You just know Lucius didn't go down without a fight, even if he didn't want to win."

"I've got to agree there," Hermione said with a chuckle, knowing how stubborn Lucius could be. "I can't wait to hear what happened."

Tucking their letters from the Weasleys back into their pockets, Hermione and Harry accompanied Draco down to the front room. Not long after they'd settled in the spacious living room, Lucius arrived back from the Ministry. When Draco's father entered the room, he wasn't at all surprised to find the three teenagers waiting for him.

"How did it go?" Draco asked his father.

"It was rather interesting," Lucius replied. "Dumbledore kept his job, despite my protests, I might add. However, the Ministry have appointed the new Defence Professor. It's a witch who works in Fudge's office, Dolores Umbridge. However, she's not just the new Professor, she's going to Hogwarts to check how things are running, and more importantly she doesn't like Dumbledore."

"So even without Father's plans for the end of the year, Dumbledore would be gone," Hermione said with a chuckle.

"I would think so," Lucius replied. "Unfortunately for Umbridge, she won't get the pleasure of sacking Dumbledore."

"Will this Umbridge woman be a problem?" Harry asked, wondering if the Minister's decision would change his grandfather's plans.

"No, she'll be no problem," Lucius answered confidently. "Once we have control of the Ministry, we can implement our own polices in Hogwarts. Which reminds me, I need to go and speak to Narcissa, we're having the Notts over for dinner tomorrow evening."

"All of them?" Draco asked with a slight grimace.

"Yes, all of them," Lucius replied as he hurried off to speak to his wife.

"Why so glum?" Harry asked his best friend. "I thought you were friends with Theo."

"I am friends with Theo, but if we're all having dinner together, I'll have to put up with Theodore," Draco replied.

"What?" Hermione frowned in confusion. "What are you on about Draco?"

"You've never had the pleasure of dining with the Notts," Draco said. "Theo's father is a pompous git. He insists on calling Theo, Theodore, and Theo acts like a different person around his father. He's such a stick in the mud when his father's around. It's so annoying."

"I'm sure you'll think of some way of livening up dinner," Harry said with a laugh. "After all, we know dinner with the Malfoys is never boring."

"We do our best to entertain," Draco replied with a grin.

Laughing happily, the trio headed back up to Draco's room now they knew what was happening with Dumbledore. At the end of the holidays they would have to deal with the Weasleys, but that was still weeks away and for now, they were going to enjoy their holidays with their real best friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Draco got ready for dinner, wishing he was dining with Hermione, Harry and their family rather than the Notts. Despite the fact he was good friends with Theo, Draco wasn't exactly expecting a scintillating night of conversation. Away from his father, Theo was great and they were good friends, but whenever his father around he was like a different person. Sitting through dinner, and then who knew how long afterwards, wasn't exactly going to be a thrill a minute for Draco.

When he couldn't put off going downstairs any longer, Draco left his bedroom. When he arrived in the front room, he found the Notts were already present. As he expected all three of them were wearing their best robes, whereas none of the Malfoys were in robes. Lucius and Draco were dressed in smart shirts and trousers, and Narcissa in an elegant deep blue dress, but they tended not to wear robes unless they were attending an official function.

"Draco, you remember Mr and Mrs Nott, don't you?" Lucius said, ushering his son into the room when he spotted him in the doorway. "And Bernie, Lizzie, you remember my son Draco."

Draco stifled a laugh as Theo's father shot Lucius an unimpressed glare. Bernard Nott didn't like his name to be shortened, and Draco knew Lucius only did it to wind him up. Nor did Bernard approve of his wife Elizabeth being called anything other than her proper name, and the same went for his son.

"I remember Draco," Bernard said stiffly. "Although, I notice he's also not wearing robes."

"No need to get too formal, Bernie," Lucius said with a grin. "We're all friends, just having a nice evening together."

"I suppose so," Bernard muttered. "But even in social circles like these, I expect my Theodore to represent the family name, therefore he's always immaculately dressed."

"You seem a bit stuffy Theo," Draco remarked with a cheeky grin. "Do you want to remove your robes?"

"No, he does not," Bernard interrupted. "Don't you not, Theodore?"

"Father's right, I'm perfectly fine thank you Draco," Theo replied primly.

"If you say so Theo," Draco replied, working hard to stop himself laughing at his friend and the change in his attitude with his father around.

"Should we go in for dinner," Narcissa suggested before her husband and son wound Bernard up any further. Considering Lucius was supposed to be wooing him to run for minister, she didn't think annoying him was the best way to go about things.

"That would be nice," Elizabeth Nott replied with a slight smile.

"What are we having?" Draco asked his mother as they entered the formal dining room.

"Roast Beef," Narcissa replied. "I hope that's fine with everyone."

"It sounds lovely Narcissa," Bernard said, acting as though Narcissa herself had prepared the meal.

Draco always found it amusing how the adults acted as though the elves didn't do all the cooking on evenings like these. It was always the same when they had guests, they all complimented his mother on the food, when Narcissa had done nothing more than sort the menu and hand it over to the elves. Although, his parents were just the same and when they dined with their friends, they always complimented the witch of the house on the meal.

Before roast beef, came the starter. The starter was some sort of salad, and Draco pushed most of it around on his plate as he nibbled on a few bits. Salad wasn't his thing, and he knew he wouldn't be offending the elves when his plate went back still half full. Draco also knew Theo didn't like salad, but his friend was sitting opposite him, politely polishing off his starter.

It wasn't until the main meal was served that Lucius expertly manoeuvred the conversation around to Dumbledore. As he recounted how he fought to get Dumbledore sacked, Draco was impressed with his father's ability to distort the truth. Listening to Lucius, you would never know that he'd actually wanted to ensure Dumbledore was still headmaster. He made it sounds as though Fudge went against everything he'd said and had ignored his advice to get rid of Dumbledore.

"I'm sure Dolores Umbridge will straighten things out," Bernard said with confidence. "I've worked with the woman on several occasions, and she's rather formidable."

"I wish I could share your confidence," Lucius said with a sigh. "But it was very clear Fudge only appointed her as an attempt to appease myself and the other angry parents. At the end of the day, he hasn't solved the problem. Dumbledore is still headmaster, and the ultimate power in the school remains in his hands. There's only so much one Professor can do."

"Maybe you're right," Bernard admitted. "But what can we do about it? You did rather well to even manage a meeting at the Ministry. We all know Fudge is in Dumbledore's pocket."

"Then perhaps it's time we had a Minister who wasn't influenced by Albus Dumbledore," Lucius suggested.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Elizabeth gasped.

"Oh no, Lizzie," Lucius chuckled. "I'm not thinking about running for Minister."

"Shame, I would vote for you," Elizabeth replied, throwing Lucius an almost flirtatious smile.

Draco shuddered at the sight as Lucius gave Theo's mother one of his most charming smiles. Wondering what Theo was making of things, Draco glanced over at his friend, but he found Theo sitting slowly eating his dinner. He was clearly playing the part of the good son, and getting on with his meal while the adults talked. Rolling his eyes at Theo's behaviour, Draco speared a piece of his beef on his fork as he continued to listen in on the adult's conversation.

"I was actually talking about this problem to The Dark Lord just the other day," Lucius continued. "And he agreed with me that a new Minister could be the best way forward. We mentioned a few possible candidates, and he mentioned you, Bernie."

"The Dark Lord mentioned me personally?" Bernard asked, practically preening at the revelation.

"He did," Lucius replied, inwardly smirking at how easy the other wizard was to manipulate. "After all, what's the point in getting a new Minister if he doesn't stand on the right side of things? The Dark Lord thought you could be just the man we're looking for."

"I'm very flattered," Bernard said coyly. "But I'm not sure if it's for me."

"Of course, I completely understand if it's too much for you," Lucius said with a sly grin. "Throwing your hat into the ring to become the new Minister is a big deal. But don't worry, if you don't feel you can do the job, we have other options."

"What other options?" Bernard asked with a frown.

"Ezra Greengrass," Lucius replied casually. He'd deliberately picked Greengrass as he knew Bernard wasn't his biggest fan, and he would hate to think he was being passed over for his rival.

"Well on second thoughts, maybe I should consider it," Bernard said. "It would be a great opportunity."

"Yes, it would Bernie, yet it would," Lucius replied, hiding how smug he felt at the way he'd been able to talk Bernard round without ever really having to stretch himself. "But we can talk about it more after dinner. For now let's just enjoy this delicious meal."

The rest of the main course was eaten with a side of chit-chat, although it was clear that Bernard was still thinking about Lucius's proposal for him to become Minister. When dessert was served, a trio of miniature cheesecakes, Lucius asked Theo about how he was enjoying his break.

"It's always nice to have a few weeks off school, Mr Malfoy," Theo replied.

Across the table, Draco rolled his eyes at his friend yet again. Theo had been to the manor dozens of times, and the only time he called Lucius, Mr Malfoy, was when his father was present. Any other time, he would just call him Lucius.

"And are you looking forward to going back?" Lucius asked. "Draco tells me you and Blaise are hoping to try out for the quidditch team."

"We were thinking about it," Theo said. "We were planning on doing it last year, but then quidditch was cancelled for The Triwizard Tournament."

"Quidditch, really Theodore?" Bernard asked with a frown. "Do you think that's wise? It's a dangerous sport, and you can be quite clumsy."

"It was just a thought, I might not even make the team," Theo said with a slight shrug.

"Don't worry Theo, you'll be great," Draco said, annoyed that Theo's father had put him down in front of everyone. True, Theo could be clumsy at time, but that didn't mean he couldn't play quidditch. "I think you'll be a real asset to the team."

"Thanks Draco," Theo said, flashing Draco a quick genuine smile before he lowered his head again and finished his dessert.

Pleased to at least see a glimpse of his friend, Draco finished his cheesecakes. With dessert finished, Lucius suggested the adults had a drink in the front room, where they could pick up their conversation about Bernard running for Minister, while Draco and Theo could head up to Draco's room for an hour or so. Since he was keen to get back to the earlier discussion, Bernard was only too happy to let Theo head off upstairs with Draco.

Leaving the adults to it, Draco and Theo hurried off upstairs. The second they entered Draco's bedroom, Theo yanked off his dress robes and threw them over a chair at the bottom of Draco's bed.

"Thank Merlin," He exclaimed as he flopped down on Draco's emerald green and black quilt. "I hate dress robes, they're so stifling."

"Yes they are, Theodore," Draco replied with a solemn nod.

"Don't you start," Theo moaned. "I'm so sick of being good little Theodore."

"You need to rebel," Draco said wisely as he joined his friend on the bed. "I dare you to go back downstairs without your robes on."

For a second Draco thought his friend was going to agree, but then Theo shook his head. "It wouldn't be worth the hassle. I can handle being a perfect pureblood around my father since I get to be myself other times."

"If you say so, it seems damn tiring to me," Draco muttered. "I mean, you even had to eat salad. Do you even like lettuce?"

"Hell no, I hate the stuff," Theo snorted. "Although, it was better than the sprouts we had with the beef. Damn, they make me so gassy."

"Not in my room they don't," Draco retorted with a disgusted look on his face. "If you feel the urge, leave the room."

Theo merely laughed in response, and changed the subject to his father's potential new position as Minister of Magic. Draco could tell Theo loved the idea, and he knew that if it happened, his friend would definitely revel in the power he would have as the new Minister's son. He could just imagine the fun Theo would have at school throwing his weight around if Bernard did indeed become Minister, and at this stage, Draco would bet anything that it happened sooner rather than later.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

While Draco was having dinner with the Notts and Lucius was persuading Bernard Nott to make a run for Minister for Magic, Hermione and Harry had enjoyed a night in with their family. Over dinner, conversation had revolved around what would happen once Harry and Hermione went back to school. Voldemort gave the pair as much information as he could about vanishing cabinets, while Severus informed them of a few places in school that they might want to try searching. Given his position as a Professor and a supposed spy for the Order, he had to be careful where he stuck his nose, but as students Harry, Hermione and Draco would have a bit more freedom to explore as long as they were careful.

After dinner Severus had headed off out to meet a friend. It was clear he was going to see his mystery woman, but he still refused to be drawn on who she was. All he would say was that he would reveal all when the time was right.

Shortly after Severus left, Hermione and Harry had headed off upstairs, leaving Beth and Voldemort to have some time together. However, they hadn't been upstairs forty minutes before they heard shouting coming from down below. Since Hermione's parents rarely argued, the pair were curious and they quietly made their way to the stairs. Moving partway down the stairs, they pair settled down in a position where they could hear everything, and just say see into the front room where Beth and Voldemort were.

"It's madness," Beth yelled. "You're asking for trouble."

"I've told you, I can handle Bella," Voldemort retorted. "She won't be a problem."

"But why risk it?" Beth questioned. "By the end of the year, the truth will be out. Hermione and Harry won't have to hide. Why not wait until then before letting her out? That way she can't cause any trouble."

"Any move after Nott is Minister will undermine him," Voldemort argued. "We need to do this soon, to increase the pressure on Fudge. Lucius and Nott can use the breakout as another way to prove Fudge isn't fit for the job."

"Then why not leave her in there?" Beth suggested. "Why do we have to free her? She was the one foolish enough to get caught. No-one sent her after the Longbottoms, she was just pissed off because I'd had Hermione."

"And has she told anyone?" Voldemort shot back at his wife. "No, she hasn't. She could have betrayed us years ago Beth, but she didn't. She hasn't sold us out to the Order, so I won't abandon her. Bellatrix will be released with the others when the breakout goes ahead."

"You just better know what you're doing," Beth warned in a low, deadly voice. "Because I promise you, if that mad woman puts my daughter or grandson in danger, I'll kill her myself."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, my dear," Voldemort replied with a slight smirk. "Now come here, you know I love it when you get all fiery."

"Don't forget you'll also be in my firing line," Beth added as she walked into her husband's arms. "If Bella screws up, you're in for a whole world of pain."

"Mmm, you say such naughty things Beth," Voldemort replied with a low chuckle.

As the two adults fell into a passionate embrace, the two teenagers on the stairs hastily made their exit. Leaving Hermione's amorous parents to do whatever they were going to do in peace, the pair returned to Harry's room to discuss what they'd heard. Neither of them were too sure what to make of Bellatrix Lestrange, although one thing was very clear, Draco's aunt wasn't to be underestimated. She could be a danger to them, and they didn't want anything to spoil their plans for the year. Not when they were so close to shedding their act and they would finally be able to be themselves.


	4. Chapter 4

With a reluctant sigh, Harry checked his bag and trunk for the final time to make sure he had everything. Even though the holidays still had two weeks to go, he and Hermione were off to spend the last two weeks with the Weasleys. Harry would much rather be staying at home, especially since things were getting exciting with the upcoming breakout from Azkaban. However, they were close to the finishing line and he and Hermione didn't want to blow their act just yet, so two weeks with the Weasleys was the price they had to pay for remaining undercover for a few more months.

Satisfied he had everything, Harry called for an elf to take his bags down to the front hallway. Taking one last look around his bedroom, not sure if he would be back for Christmas or if he'd have to wait until the summer before he was home, Harry headed off to see if Hermione was ready. Not bothering to knock, he sauntered straight into his aunt's room, and immediately wished he hadn't.

Hermione was standing in the centre of the room, locked in a passionate embrace with Draco. The pair were so caught up in each other, they hadn't even realised Harry had entered the room. Feeling slightly smug that he'd spotted the attraction between them long before they admitted they liked each other, Harry shook his head at the amorous pair as he wondered when they would notice him. When they still failed to register his presence, and one of Draco's hands slid down to Hermione's backside, he decided to make his presence known by clearing his throat. Instantly the pair sprung apart, and turned to glare at Harry.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" Hermione snapped.

"Haven't you heard there's a time and place for everything," Harry shot back with a mischievous smirk. "I really don't think now is the right time for the pair of you to be getting frisky. We've got to leave soon to head to Diagon Alley."

"Don't remind me," Hermione grumbled. "Thank Merlin this charade is nearly over. Just think, this will be the last time we have to visit the Weasleys outside of school. Hell, before long we'll not even have to associate with them in school."

"The day can't come soon enough," Harry agreed. "But unfortunately, it's still months away, and right now we need to be leaving."

"Yeah, yeah," Hermione muttered, rolling her eyes. "My stuff's already downstairs."

Grabbing her bag, Hermione took hold of Draco's hand and followed Harry downstairs. When they reached the front hallway, Beth was ready and waiting for them. Wordlessly she shrunk their trunks and handed them to the pair for safekeeping.

"You're not coming to Diagon Alley with us, are you Draco?" Beth checked with a slight frown. She didn't mind dropping the blond boy off with her daughter and grandson, but she hadn't been aware it was happening.

"No, I just came to say goodbye to Hermione and Harry," Draco replied.

"Funny, I didn't even know you were here," Harry remarked, raising an eyebrow at his best friend. "Some goodbye that was."

"I'm going to say goodbye now," Draco argued. "I was just doing Hermione first."

Harry let out an immature snicker at Draco's wording, causing the blond to roll his eyes at him. "Just don't say goodbye to me the way you were saying goodbye to Hermione," He warned, still sniggering. "You can keep your hands off my bum."

"Harry stop being a git," Hermione hissed, elbowing her nephew in the ribs as her mother shot her a questioning look.

"He can't help it, it's in his nature," Draco said, pulling a face at Harry, who promptly pulled one back.

"Boys," Beth warned with a humorous smile. "Say your goodbyes, we have to be going."

"Bye Harry, I'll see you at school," Draco said in mock formality as he held out his hand for Harry to shake.

"Bye, idiot," Harry replied with a laugh as he slapped Draco's hand out of the way and clapped him on the shoulder.

Returning Harry's slap on the shoulder, Draco turned to Hermione and the couple said goodbye again. Only because Harry and Beth were standing watching, they kept their goodbye to a quick peck on the cheek and a brief hug. With goodbyes out of the way, Beth took hold of the two teenagers and apparated them to Diagon Alley while Draco headed off to floo home.

As usual, they arrived in a side street in muggle London, before heading to The Leaky Cauldron. After checking the pair would be alright, and getting them to promise to write when they received their Hogwarts letters, Beth headed off so the pair could meet up with the Weasleys.

"Any sign?" Hermione asked as Harry scoured the pub looking for the family of redheads.

"Not yet," Harry replied. "Maybe we should get a drink and wait for them."

Even though Hermione wasn't overly keen on drinking in the slightly grubby pub, she agreed to Harry's suggestion. They'd arranged to meet Ron and his mother in the pub, so it made sense to stay at the meeting place. If they headed into Diagon Alley, they might miss the Weasleys, and as tempting as that was, Hermione knew it wasn't the best idea.

While Harry grabbed two butterbeers, Hermione settled herself at a corner table, which wasn't quite as grubby as some of the other tables. As it turned out, Harry had barely returned with the drinks when Hermione spotted Ron, and a frazzled looking Molly entering the pub from the direction of Diagon Alley.

"Weasley alert," Hermione muttered to Harry, before pasting a fake smile on her face as Ron reached them. "Hey, Ron."

"Hi, 'Mione," Ron replied with a wide smile as he slid into the seat beside her.

"Hermione," Hermione corrected.

Turning his head, Ron frowned at Hermione in confusion. "What?"

"My name," Hermione said. "It's Hermione, not 'Mione."

"Sorry," Ron apologised, shooting Harry a 'can you believe her' look.

"Oh good, you're both here," Molly cried as she reached the table. "I'm afraid we've got no time to spare. Let's be heading home."

"Where are your trunks?" Ron asked as they got up from where they were sitting, and he noticed Hermione was just carrying Crookshanks's travelling basket.

"Shrunk and in our pockets," Hermione answered.

"You can do that spell?" Ron asked Harry in amazement.

"Hermione taught me," Harry lied. He could actually do the spell himself, but it wasn't the easiest spell and since he'd never let Ron see just how smart he truly was, he didn't want him to know he could master complicated spells himself.

"Cool, you'll have to teach me one day," Ron gushed.

Hermione nodded in response as the trio followed Molly to the fireplaces in the corner. Molly handed out floo powder to everyone, before supervising the three teenagers heading back to The Burrow. When they arrived back at The Burrow, Molly announced they would be heading back out again, once she'd grabbed some groceries from the kitchen.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked Ron with a frown.

"Order headquarters," Ron answered in excitement. "I've never been, but Mum says we're going to be spending most of the next two weeks there."

"Order headquarters? You mean Sirius's house?" Harry checked.

"I think so," Ron replied. "But as I said, I've never been. Mum's been keeping Ginny and I here, even when the rest of the family are at headquarters."

"Where is Ginny?" Hermione asked, slightly surprised that the redheaded girl hadn't appeared as soon as Harry had entered the house.

"Dad took her to headquarters before he went to work," Ron replied. "She'll be there when we arrive."

Harry gave Ron a fake smile of enthusiasm, just as Molly re-entered the front room carrying a large bag of food. Giving the trio the address of the Order headquarters, she handed out floo powder. One by one they left The Burrow and headed to Twelve Grimmauld Place, which was where the Order Headquarters were located.

Arriving at the headquarters, they found themselves in a spacious front room. It was clear the room was in the middle of being cleaned, as several pieces of furniture were draped with dust sheets. As they brushed soot off their clothes, Harry and Hermione looked around their new surroundings. On one wall, Harry spotted a large family tree, but before he could wander over and look at it properly, Sirius Black walked into the room.

"Harry," Sirius cried with a wide smile.

"Hey, Sirius," Harry replied as his godfather swept him into a bone crushing hug.

"I'm going to get dinner prepared," Molly announced as she stepped from the flames. "Sirius, you can show the three of them their rooms. And if you see Ginny, tell her to come and help with dinner."

With her instructions issued, Molly swept out of the room. Sirius rolled his eyes at Molly, but he did as the witch asked and led the trio out of the front room. Explaining that the house belonged to his parents, and it was where he grew up, Sirius began to climb the narrow stairs. It was clear to the trio that the house was quite narrow, but it had several storeys. Sirius led them up to the third floor, and pointed them in the direction of two bedrooms.

"Harry, Ron, you take this one," Sirius said, gesturing to the door nearest to him. "Hermione, you're in that one down there, with Ginny. The twins are in the room at the end of the corridor, and Remus and I have rooms on the floor above."

"Professor Lupin's here?" Ron questioned.

"Not at the moment, but he is staying here," Sirius answered. "He'll be back for dinner. In fact I think a lot of the Order are coming for dinner so you can be introduced to them."

"Cool," Ron enthused. "And will be allowed to find out what's going on?"

"That's not my call, Ron," Sirius chuckled. "It's up to your parents what you can hear. But at least you're here, you'll still find out plenty."

"I guess so," Ron said with a sigh as he opened the door to the room he was going to share with Harry.

"Hermione, if Ginny's in your room, tell her that her mother wants her help," Sirius called as Hermione headed for her room. "And Harry, once you've settled in, come up to my room. I've got something I want to give you."

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit," Harry said.

While Hermione went to get settled in her room, Harry followed Ron into the room they would be sharing. The room wasn't very large, and contained two single beds. Harry was fairly sure he could cope sharing with Ron for two weeks, although any longer might have been a problem. After pulling out his trunk, and dumping his bag on the bed, Harry told Ron he was going to go and see what Sirius wanted him for. Heading up to the floor above, Harry easily found Sirius's room. Sirius had the door propped open, so all Harry had to do was pop his head around the door.

"Harry, come on in," Sirius said with a smile.

Harry entered the room, and perched on the end of Sirius's bed. Sirius pulled open the doors to a large old fashioned wardrobe, and plucked something from the top shelf before joining Harry on the bed. As Sirius sat down beside him, Harry curiously eyed the shimmering material in his godfather's hands. Harry did wonder if Sirius was going to give him some sort of blanket, but the material seemed strange.

"It's a cloak," Sirius explained, spotting the puzzlement on Harry's face. "It belonged to your father. He would want you to have it."

Even though Harry didn't want anything that had belonged to James Potter, he took the cloak and at Sirius's urging, he stood up and slung it around his neck. When he did so, Sirius smirked widely at him.

"What?" He questioned.

"Look down," Sirius advised with a chuckle.

Harry glanced down and his mouth dropped open when he found his body was nowhere to be seen. "Whoa. What is this thing?"

"It's an invisibility cloak," Sirius replied, excitement obvious in his voice. "If you put it over your head, all of you will become invisible. It's great for sneaking around the castle. Your father, Remus and I had loads of fun with the cloak in our school days. Of course the map helped as well."

"Map?" Harry questioned as he removed the cloak and placed it on the bed. Even though it belonged to James, he rather liked it and he could only imagine how helpful it would be over the coming year to wander about the castle unnoticed.

"We invented a map of the school," Sirius explained. "It showed where everyone was all the time, not to mention every single secret passageway in the school. We used it to avoid the Professors when we were sneaking about after curfew."

"That sounds amazing, do you still have it?" Harry asked. A map like that could be really handy, and it might actually provide another way for his grandfather to enter the castle if they couldn't find the vanishing cabinet.

Sirius shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately no. We were caught with it, and it was confiscated. As far as I know, it's still in Filch's office with the other confiscated items."

"I bet you got in trouble for having a map of the school," Harry remarked. He doubted Dumbledore would just let an item like that sit around, so he was guessing it was now in the headmaster's possession.

"Nah, we were smarter than that," Sirius said with a grin. "We enchanted the map, so only a certain phrase revealed what it was. Once we were finished, we used another phrase to turn it back into a blank piece of parchment. We were caught with the blank parchment, and it's also enchanted to insult whoever tries to read it without the password. Everyone thought we just had a joke bit of parchment that we'd bought from the joke shop."

"That's so ingenious," Harry said, genuinely in awe of what Sirius and the others had created. "I just wish I could see it."

"Maybe I could ask Dumbledore if it's still in school," Sirius mused. "Anyway, I'll see if I can find you the map. But you have the invisibility cloak, so take good care of it Harry."

"I will," Harry vowed as he picked up the shimmering material once again.

Thanking Sirius for the cloak, Harry headed back down to his room and stashed it in his trunk. Ron must have gone downstairs, so he didn't have to share the find with him, but he did plan on sharing it with Hermione. No doubt his aunt would find the cloak rather impressive, and she was bound to see the potential in having an invisibility cloak. Unwittingly, Sirius could have just handed a very powerful weapon into the hands of the enemy.


	5. Chapter 5

Less than a week after arriving at Grimmauld Place, Hermione was more than ready to leave. The place was incredibly stifling, and Hermione felt very much like a spare part. Harry had been embraced by Molly, not to mention Sirius, who was always trying to spend time with his godson. However, more often than not Hermione was an afterthought. Sirius would include her in his tales when he realised she was hanging around, or Molly would ask her to help with something only when she realised she'd forgotten about including her. All in all Hermione was having a terrible time and she was counting down the days until they returned to Hogwarts.

Even the arrival of their Hogwarts letters a few days ago, did little to brighten Hermione's spirits. As she hoped her and Harry were given the job of prefects, which caused some sulking by Ron when he realised he'd been over looked. Even Molly seemed put out her precious son wasn't a prefect, but at the same time she was clearly trying to be enthusiastic for Harry. Hermione on the other hand, got a quick well done and the fact she was a prefect wasn't mentioned again by anyone other than her nephew.

Even the trip to Diagon Alley was dull and boring. Before they went, Molly organised a schedule and she managed to get them all round the shops and back to Grimmauld Place before lunchtime. Hermione didn't even get a chance to see if Draco was around as they were moving so quickly they only had time to grab what they needed before they were ushered out of the shop and onto the next place of business.

Hermione had also been disappointed not to have met too many members of the Order. Despite Sirius's promise that a few were showing up for dinner on their first night, they'd mainly consisted of Weasleys and Professors. The only new faces were the real Alastor Moody, and two Aurors, Kingsley Shackelbolt and Nymphadora Tonks. Kingsley was a tall, friendly wizard with a deep booming voice who wore fairly outrageous deep purple robes. As for Tonks, she was a petite witch, with metamorphmagus qualities. She spent the entire meal making Ginny laugh by changing her nose or her hair colour. Hermione actually quite liked both Kingsley and Tonks, but since they were the enemy, she didn't let herself get too attached to them.

Since the first dinner, Hermione hadn't seen Moody or Kingsley, but Tonks was a regular visitor to headquarters. It hadn't taken Hermione long to realise that the reason the young witch was visiting was because she had a crush on Remus Lupin. Hermione was baffled by the attraction personally, but who was she to judge if Tonks had strange taste in men. Then again, considering her mother had fallen for a muggleborn, it would seem falling for an inappropriate wizard was something she'd inherited from her mother.

With such a feeling of isolation, Hermione had taken to either curling up in the library, or sitting outside in the small back garden. Since it was quite a nice day she was currently settled under the large tree in the back garden, Crookshanks curled up on her lap as she had a book she wasn't really reading propped up beside her.

"Hermione, what are you doing out here?" Harry called as he emerged from the open kitchen door.

"Nothing," Hermione replied with a shrug.

Harry made his way over to his aunt, and slid down onto the grass beside her. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her closer so she was leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I know you're bored," He whispered. Even though they were alone in the garden, he didn't want anyone to hear what they were talking about. "So am I. I can't wait to leave this place."

"Just over a week and then we're free," Hermione whispered back.

The pair were still sitting huddled together a few minutes later when Ron strolled out of the house. The second he spotted the way Harry had his arm around Hermione and the way she was resting against his shoulder, Ron's smile disappeared and it was replaced by a jealous frown.

"What are you two up to?" He asked moodily.

"Just grabbing some air," Hermione replied, not moving her head from Harry's shoulder.

"I'll join you," Ron declared, settling himself down in front of the pair. The second he sat down, Crookshanks got to his feet, gave Ron a dirty look and sauntered away to lie under another tree. "That cat hates me."

"It looks like it," Hermione said with a nod.

"Why?" Ron asked. "What have I ever done to it?"

"How about that you've twice accused him of murder with no evidence," Hermione replied. "Plus you weren't exactly welcoming when you met him."

"I was worried he was going to eat my rat," Ron grumbled.

"Given who the rat turned out to be, maybe he should have," Harry joked.

When Hermione chuckled at Harry, Ron lightened up and his face broke into a small smile. Forgetting all about Crookshanks, he changed the subject to who Harry thought the new quidditch captain would be. Ron was determined to get onto the team, and he'd half hoped Harry would be made captain to make the task easier. Hermione tuned out as the boys debated the choices, which were basically the three female chasers as the team hadn't replaced Oliver as keeper with the lack of quidditch last year, Harry wasn't captain and nor were Fred or George.

The boys were still talking quidditch a few minutes later when Ginny emerged into the garden. Ginny's appearance immediately shut Ron up and he started at his sister in disgust. Ginny was wearing a tiny pair of shorts, which were practically indecent, and a low cut strappy vest top. While Ron admonished his sister for her dress choice, Harry ignored the redhead as he knew it was him she was trying to get a reaction out of. Hermione meanwhile was shaking her head at Ginny's inappropriate choice of outfit. Hermione herself often wore more clothes for bed than what Ginny was currently wearing.

When Ginny told Ron to sod off and keep his nose out of her life, Ron raised his voice and called for Molly. When Molly appeared in the kitchen doorway she immediately let out a squeal of shock when she set eyes on her youngest child.

"Ginevra Weasley get upstairs and put some clothes on," Molly ordered.

"I've got clothes on," Ginny argued, pouting at the fact Harry hadn't even noticed her. He was more interested in sitting cuddled up with Hermione.

"Not appropriate clothes," Molly replied. "Where did you even get that stuff from? It's indecent. Get upstairs and get properly dressed, or you're going home to The Burrow and you'll be grounded for the rest of the holidays."

Ginny opened her mouth to argue some more but when her mother gave her a stern glare, she shut it again and flounced into the house with a loud sigh. Muttering to herself, Molly disappeared to get back to whatever chore she was doing, while Ron turned back to Hermione and Harry.

"Attention seeking brat," He grumbled. "She only did it to cause a stir."

Harry nodded, even though he didn't agree. In his opinion Ginny had been flaunting herself for his benefit. Since his arrival at Grimmauld Place, Ginny had been flirting with him like crazy, but he'd remained unaffected by her charms. Although part of him was hoping that Ginny would now think he was with Hermione and would leave him alone. At least it would make his last year pretending to be a Potter less of a strain if he didn't have to worry about Ginny Weasley and her tarty tendencies.

Unfortunately for Harry, it soon became clear that even if Ginny did think he was involved with Hermione she was still continuing with her flirtations. When she came back from getting changed, this time wearing a more modest pair of shorts and t-shirt, she just picked up where she left off with flattering Harry and batting her eyelashes at him. She continued all day until finally she was distracted by dinner and the arrival of a few of the Order, plus her father.

"Where's Percy?" Molly asked with a frown as Arthur arrived for dinner without their son.

"He's still at work. Fudge is having a bit of a crisis at the moment," Arthur said. Given what had happened to his former boss, Barty Crouch, Percy now worked in the Minister's office.

"What sort of crisis?" Molly asked as she began to dish out dinner.

"There's rumblings of his job being in threat," Arthur replied. "I've heard that Bernard Nott is building himself a support network, headed by Lucius Malfoy."

"Damn it." Sirius pounded his fist on the table in anger. "Bloody Voldemort is trying to gain power."

"He's certainly making a stab at it," Arthur agreed. "But just because Nott is launching an attempt on the top job doesn't mean he'll succeed. A few people have tried and failed over the years to usurp Fudge."

"Yes, but Fudge has always had the backing of Dumbledore," Remus pointed out. "Dumbledore doesn't have the sway he used to these days thanks to Lucius Malfoy. He's made a hell of a fuss over events at Hogwarts recently, and I've read a few unflattering articles in the papers these last few months."

"I've heard a few parents expressing their concerns," Molly added. "Remus is right. Albus doesn't have the support he used to."

"So Nott stands a chance of usurping Fudge?" Ron questioned.

"He just might," Arthur replied. "Although it will take a while for him to gain enough support to actually become Minister."

"If the dark are so determined to put Fudge out of a job, why doesn't someone from the Order run for Minister?" Ron suggested. "Then we keep power."

"Good idea son, but who would we get to do that?" Arthur chuckled.

"You," Ron replied, giving his father a grin. "You could run for Minister, Dad."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a subtle eye roll as people began to seriously discuss Ron's idea. They both knew Ron had suggested his father run for Minister as he would enjoy the bragging rights that came with the position. They could only hope that things kicked off with the breakout before Arthur and the Order got a real chance to sort themselves out and market Arthur as a viable replacement for Fudge.

Luckily they didn't have to wait too long as a few hours after dinner, a breathless Percy came bursting into headquarters. He was frantic as he explained something major was happening. Fudge had been called out of the office to go to Azkaban.

"What was going on?" Sirius asked. He could count on one hand the amount of times Fudge had visited the prison during the years he'd been incarcerated.

"No idea," Percy said. "I was just sent to gather as many people as I could. Something big is brewing."

"I better go and find out what," Arthur said as he got to his feet. "I'll be back when I know something."

Arthur and Percy's departure led to everyone speculating about what could be going on. However, no-one but Hermione and Harry even considered a possible breakout. Dozens of theories were bantered around before a clearly shaken Arthur returned with Percy at his side.

"What was it?" Molly asked as soon as her husband returned.

"There's been a mass breakout," Arthur said shakily. "Half the prison is in ruins, and the majority of the inmates are gone."

"The Death Eaters," Molly gasped.

"All gone," Arthur said. "Every single high category prisoner is now free. You-Know-Who's numbers have just received a hell of a boost."

"And this could be just what Nott needs to out Fudge," Sirius grumbled. "Damn, they've timed this perfectly. We couldn't put up a challenge even if we wanted to. What's the betting that Nott is Minister within a month?"

While everyone was dismayed with Sirius's theory, Harry and Hermione shared a quick smirk. They hoped Sirius was right, and Nott took over as Minister. It would certainly shake things up, and that was before the truth about the pair of them came out. Things were definitely going to get interesting this year, and Harry and Hermione couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Pressure on Fudge growing as Azkaban debacle rumbles on.**_

Ron snorted at the headline in the Daily Prophet and threw the paper down on the seat across from him in disgust. It had been over a week since the breakout and there was still no official word from the Ministry about how all of the high class prisoners had managed to escape. Of course everyone knew Voldemort had broken them out, but no-one seemed to know how he'd gotten past all the security features of the prison. There should have been no way he could have broken everyone out without some sort of alert being sounded, but the alarm was only raised once all the dangerous prisoners had escaped into the night.

As the Order feared, Nott had used the breakout to further push his case against outing Fudge and taking the job himself. No longer was his attempts to gain the top job rumours around the Ministry. The press had caught hold of his intentions, and publications like The Daily Prophet had made it clear they were backing Nott. Of course because everything had exploded before the order had a chance to prepare their own candidate to take over as Minister, they were unsuccessful in making a dent in Nott's support. Dumbledore had tried to push Arthur as a viable choice if Fudge should be forced to step down, but the wizarding world seemed to recognise that it was just a feeble attempt by Dumbledore to keep his influence over the Ministry. With the way things were, the vast majority of people wanted change, and right now Bernard Nott provided the perfect answer.

"This is just great," Ron grumbled when neither Harry nor Hermione looked up at his earlier sigh.

The trio were on The Hogwarts Express, after leaving London a little over half an hour ago. However, while Ron had settled himself down with the paper, his friends had found other ways to entertain themselves. Hermione had settled down in the corner with Crookshanks on her lap, and a large book in her hand. Like Ron, Harry had settled down with another copy of the paper, but unlike Ron he was devouring every bit of news he could find about both the breakout from Azkaban and Nott's chances of becoming the next Minister for Magic.

"What are you moaning about now?" Hermione asked with an exasperated sigh. It seemed like for the past week, Ron had done nothing but moan and she was getting thoroughly sick of it.

"Do you really need to ask?" Ron shot Hermione an incredulous look as he shook his head at the brunette witch. "I'm worried about the state the world's in. At this rate, we're going to have a Death Eater as Minister before the end of the year."

"Was Nott ever proved to be a Death Eater?" Hermione questioned. Of course she knew that he hadn't, even the fact he had the dark mark hadn't been proved as far as she knew.

"Technically no," Ron answered, clearly unhappy with the situation. "But everyone knows he was in with the dark. He went to school with Lucius Malfoy, and the two are still tight now. Just look at the way he's is backing Nott in his campaign to become Minister."

"Lucius was never convicted of being a Death Eater," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, because he has money and influence," Ron snorted. "It certainly wasn't because he was innocent. Lucius flashed the cash, and got out of trouble. Typical Malfoy, using wealth to get what they want."

"Careful Ron, you're sounding jealous," Harry put in as he looked up from his paper. "Whenever you get mad at Malfoy, or his father, you always bring up the fact they're rich. It's starting to sound as though you're just jealous of them."

"It's alright for you, Harry, you're rich as well," Ron argued. "You've got a vault at Gringotts stuffed full of galleons. You don't understand what it's like to be poor."

Harry frowned as Ron brought up the Potters vault at Gringotts yet again. He'd mentioned it a few years earlier, and Harry was still curious as to how he knew that the vault was stuffed with galleons. Harry had never mentioned how much was in the vault, nor had he let any of the Weasleys see inside when they visited the bank with him. So how did Ron know just how wealthy he supposedly was? It wasn't as if he was assuming he had money because James was a pureblood and an only child, as the Weasleys themselves were proof that being purebloods didn't automatically make you wealthy. Which begged the question, where was Ron getting his information from?

"It's not about what I understand," Harry said, putting his queries to one side for the time being. "It's about you sounding jealous. You can't expect people to take your complaints about Malfoy and his family seriously if you just sound jealous. Anyone who doesn't know you, would hear you and just say it was a case of sour grapes because he's been fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family and you haven't."

"Harry's right," Hermione added, hiding her smirk as her nephew insulted Ron all the time disguising it as advice. What Harry was really saying was that Ron was a jealous moron, but of course Ron didn't know that. "More often than not you sound like someone who's just jealous of Malfoy's wealth. After all, what do you really have against him other than he's rich, and your father doesn't like his? You hated him before you even knew him."

"With good reason," Ron exploded. "Malfoy's are pure evil, Hermione. They're supporters of You-Know-Who, and they're helping him gain power by placing Nott as Minister. You won't be sticking up for Malfoy in a few months when Nott's in charge and he starts getting rid of muggleborns. If we don't fight Hermione, people like you are going to be wiped from the wizarding world."

"Don't worry Ron, I'll be fighting," Hermione vowed as she moved Crookshanks off her lap and got to her feet. "But right now, we need to be going to the prefects meeting. Come on Harry, or we'll be late."

"Good luck," Ron called after Harry, pointedly ignoring Hermione as the pair departed the compartment.

Once free of Ron, Hermione and Harry shared a relieved smile, but considering they were still on the train surrounded by students they couldn't express their relief of being away from Ron in case someone overheard. Instead, they made their way to the prefects' compartment at the end of the train and slipped inside. The prefects from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were already present along with the Head Boy and Head Girl, however there was no sign of the Slytherin pair. It was actually one minute before the meeting was due to start before the compartment door slid open again and Draco entered, alongside Daphne Greengrass.

"You're pushing it, Malfoy," The Head Boy growled unhappily. "The pair of you were almost late."

"Almost late, isn't the same as late," Draco replied in a bored drawl. "We were perfectly on time."

"Next time, be early," The Head Boy said.

"Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of setting a time for the meeting?" Draco asked with a smirk. "Our information was to be here at quarter to twelve, and here we are at quarter to twelve. If you wanted us earlier, you should have set an earlier time for the meeting."

The Head Boy looked as though he was going to continue arguing with Draco, but before he could say anything the Head Girl jumped in and began explaining their duties. After making sure everyone knew what being a prefect entailed, the head students gave those that needed it the password to their common rooms for them to hand out to the rest of their house mates, before dismissing the group.

"I think being a prefect will be fun," Harry remarked with a grin as he and Hermione watched Draco and Daphne disappear off down the corridor.

"Stop drooling, Harry," Hermione muttered. "You'll get a proper introduction soon enough."

"Yeah, but I'd like to get to know her before she finds out the truth," Harry replied quietly, keeping his voice low so no-one would hear. "I wonder if I'll get paired with her on prefect patrols."

"Don't the pair from the same house normally patrol together?" Hermione questioned as they slowly began to make their way back to Ron.

"Probably," Harry replied, his face falling as he saw his chance to get to know Daphne slip through his fingers.

"Never mind Harry, things will work out," Hermione said cheerfully. "If two people are meant to be together, they'll find their way to one another."

"Since when did you become a romantic sap?" Harry groaned. "Falling in love has turned you into an idiot."

"Who says I'm in love?" Hermione asked with a laugh as they came to a stop outside of the compartment they were sharing with Ron. As they paused in the corridor they were unaware that Ron had been joined by Ginny in their absence and both Weasleys were watching and listening to them through the flimsy glass door.

"I do," Harry replied, grinning at his aunt. "It's written all over your face. You're in love."

"Maybe I am," Hermione answered with a grin of her own. "But I'm not an idiot."

"Fine, I'll take the idiot part back," Harry said cheerfully.

"Good boy," Hermione replied, giving her nephew a hug and a peck on the cheek.

Harry returned the hug and the pair re-entered the compartment with smiles on their faces, which dimmed somewhat when they realised Ginny had joined them. As they settled back down in the compartment, they did wonder what had upset Ron and Ginny, but neither cared enough to ask. Instead they briefly filled Ron in on what had happened at the prefect meeting, including telling him who the other prefects were, before settling back down to enjoy the rest of the trip up to Hogwarts.

By the time they arrived at the castle, Ron and Ginny had snapped out of their moods and they'd saved Harry and Hermione seats as they'd had to make sure everyone got up to the castle as part of their duty as prefects.

"Have you seen that witch on the end?" Ron hissed to Harry and Hermione, gesturing to the Professors table where a stout witch wearing a bright pink dress was sitting scrutinising the students entering the Great Hall.

"Must be the new Defence Professor," Harry said. From what he knew, Ron had no idea that the witch had been appointed by the Ministry and worked for them, all he seemed to know was that Dumbledore hadn't been sacked following his meeting with the Ministry.

"She looks like a pink toad," Ron snorted, clearly amused by his own joke.

"Let's hope she's better than the last Professor," Harry muttered darkly.

"She can't be worse," Hermione said with a shrug. "At least she's not going to enter you into a deadly tournament."

"Been there, done that," Harry joked.

Slowly silence fell over the Great Hall as Dumbledore announced it was time for the sorting. The sorting took twenty minutes or so, and when it was over, Dumbledore got up to make his welcome speech. Rather amusingly, he'd barely started when he introduced the new Professor, Dolores Umbridge, and she got up and began to make her own speech.

"Wow, talk about rude," Ron muttered as Dumbledore sat back in down in shock as Umbridge started to address the students.

"Ssh," Hermione hissed, silencing Ron so she could hear what Umbridge was saying.

Even though she knew Umbridge had been placed into school by the Ministry, she was interested to see if the older witch would acknowledge that. Surprisingly she did, and Hermione knew anyone who'd truly been listening to the witch's speech would know what her true intentions were. Unfortunately Umbridge's speech was so long winded and boring, she doubted anyone else had even listened. Sure enough as she glanced around the Great Hall, she was confronted with faces of boredom on her fellow students. In fact the only other person who even seemed to be listening to Umbridge was Draco, and Hermione managed to share a quick smile with her boyfriend before Umbridge finished up and sat back down.

"Man, she's going to be a laugh a minute," Ron muttered as Dumbledore stood back up and restarted his speech.

"She's going to liven the place up, that's for certain," Hermione remarked as Dumbledore ended his speech in record time and started the feast.

"Liven the place up? Are you serious?" Ron gawped at Hermione. "She's going to be a nightmare."

"I'm sure she's going to be a nightmare for some, especially Dumbledore," Hermione answered.

"Dumbledore? Why would she be a nightmare for Dumbledore?" Ginny questioned with a frown. "He appointed her."

"Didn't you listen to her speech?" Hermione asked, even though she knew the answer. "She didn't say as much, but I don't think it was Dumbledore was gave her the job. She spoke a lot about the Ministry, and changes at Hogwarts. I got the impression she was here to monitor Dumbledore and the staff, as well as teaching."

"Nah, you have to have misunderstood," Ron insisted with a shake of his head.

"We'll see," Hermione said with an unconcerned shrug. She knew she would be proven right, and before long Ron would be eating his words as he discovered just why Umbridge was really at Hogwarts.


	7. Chapter 7

The first full day back at Hogwarts was met with enthusiasm from Hermione. She was up nice and early, had her bag packed and was ready to head down to breakfast before Harry and Ron even emerged from the boys dorms. Normally, Hermione would just go down to breakfast on her own and let the boys catch up with her, but they always attended the first meal of the new school year together.

"Finally," She declared happily when the two boys entered the common room. "I thought you were never getting up."

"It was tempting," Ron said. "I always hate it when we're thrust straight into lessons. They should give us a few days to get acclimatised being back at school."

"The best way to acclimatise is to get stuck in," Hermione argued. "By the end of the day, it'll be as though we haven't just had weeks off school."

"And that's what I'm afraid of," Ron muttered, sharing an amused look with Harry. They both knew Hermione lived for school, and nothing could convince her being back in lessons was anything other than a good thing.

Hermione led the way down to the Great Hall, where the trio settled down and grabbed some breakfast. Halfway through the meal, Professor McGonagall passed them their timetables. While Harry and Ron just glanced at them, and carried on eating, Hermione turned her full attention to the schedule for the year ahead.

"What do we have first?" Ron asked, swallowing a large piece of sausage.

"Defence," Hermione answered. "We're going to see Umbridge in action straight away."

"Anything else interesting on the agenda for today?" Harry asked.

"Herbology is after Defence, then History of Magic. The afternoon starts with Potions, before I've got Arithmancy."

"Potions, on the first day," Ron groaned. "Someone hates us."

"I like Potions," Hermione declared.

"I don't know why, Snape hates Gryffindors," Ron replied.

"Can't say I've noticed," Hermione said, shrugging her shoulder as she returned to her cereal.

Before Ron was able to start a rant about Severus, Harry jumped in and questioned him about his ambitions to try out for the quidditch team. The previous evening they'd discovered that Angelina Johnson had been made captain, and she'd already made it clear she was planning on holding a full try-out for the team. Even Harry's position wasn't secure, although no-one really doubted he would be replaced.

The boys were still chattering about quidditch as they left the Great Hall and ran directly into the Slytherins who were hovering around outside the doors. Harry had managed to stop himself before he bumped into anyone, but Ron had gone barrelling into Blaise Zabini's back, and he'd ended up almost falling to the floor as he staggered back.

"Watch it Weasley," Blaise snapped.

"Why don't you watch it, Zabini," Ron retorted as he regained his balance. "You're the ones loitering around in the hallway."

"We're not loitering, Theo is picking his bag up," Blaise replied.

"Clumsy oaf," Ron snickered.

"You're one to talk, Weasel breath," Theo snarled back. "You're a walking disaster zone. Your whole family is, I mean your pathetic father can't even put on a decent show in an attempt to become Minister. And as for that pompous brother of yours, he'll soon be out of a job."

"We all know whose backing your father for the job, Nott," Ron retorted. "No-one actually wants him for the job, they're just too scared to say so. Anyway, even if he does get the job, he'll lose it again when Dumbledore defeats You-Know-Who."

"Dumbledore defeating The Dark Lord? What world are you living in Weasley?" Draco laughed. "He can barely hang onto his own job, let alone control the Ministry any more. Face it, Dumbledore is going down."

"Dumbledore is not going down," Ron growled fiercely. "He's going to beat your precious Dark Lord."

"I don't think so," Draco replied with a smug smirk. "He's running scared of him. The Dark Lord's being back a whole year, and Dumbledore's just sat back and done nothing. You know it's a good job you're used to being down at the bottom of society as a Weasley, because that's where you're going to stay for the rest of your life. If of course, you all survive, and with so many of you, the odds aren't good."

"Is that a threat, Malfoy?" Ron asked, reaching for his wand.

"No Weasley, it's a promise," Draco snarled in a low, menacing voice before turning to his friends and leading them off towards Defence.

"I hate him so much," Ron grumbled as they watched the blond Slytherin walk away surrounded by his friends.

"Now's not the time to waste hating Malfoy," Hermione said, checking the time and tutting slightly. "If we're not quick we're going to be late, and that's no way to start the new term."

"I guess not," Harry agreed, as he followed his aunt towards the stairs.

Less than five minutes later the trio arrived in the Defence classroom with minutes to spare before the bell. Luckily they'd managed to take their seats and get sorted, before the bell rang and Umbridge appeared from her office. Sweeping down the stairs that connected the office to the classroom, Umbridge took a few seconds to look over the assembled fifth years.

"As you know, I'm Dolores Umbridge, you're new Defence against the Dark Arts Professor," Umbridge began in a simpering voice. "I won't lie to you, this year will be your toughest one yet. Not only will you be taking your O.W.L examinations at the end of the year, but you've got five years' worth of classes to learn. I've looked at your work from previous years, and I'm deeply disappointed. You've had four years of worthless teachers, not one of them taught you nearly enough. So for this first term, we're going to be going over what you should have learnt before now, starting with first year."

There was an audible groan around the classroom, as Umbridge then launched into a lecture about the basics of Dark Arts and defending yourself from dark magic. For the rest of the lesson, Umbridge continued with her lecture style of teaching. She didn't even ask any questions to establish what the class knew or didn't know, but she'd made it plain everyone was to take notes of what she was saying. By the end of the lesson, Hermione was distinctly unimpressed and she wondered just how long they'd have to put up with the toad in pink. Hopefully once Dumbledore was gone and her father was in charge, they could send Umbridge back to the Ministry.

"Well, she's a laugh a minute," Ron groaned as they exited the classroom and headed to their next lesson. "Do you think we're ever going to do any real work, or is she just going to lecture us all year?"

"I hope not," Hermione replied. "The best way to learn magic is to practice it, everyone knows that."

"Yeah, all muggles know that," Ron retorted, rolling his eyes. When Hermione said things like that she sounded more like she'd been raised in the wizarding world.

"I am not a muggle," Hermione hissed angrily as she pushed past Ron and entered the greenhouse they were due to start the term in.

Hermione settled herself in a seat beside Neville Longbottom, and she pointedly ignored Ron as he and Harry slid into seats at the other side of Neville. Hermione continued to ignore Ron all lesson, but she did accept his apology over break before they headed to History of Magic.

"This lesson is also really boring," Ron grumbled as they took seats in the back of the room.

History of Magic was taught by a ghost, Professor Binns. Rumour had it, Binns died during one of his classes, and his ghost merely took over the lessons. Hermione had to agree with Ron that the class was one of the most boring one on the curriculum, and the saddest thing was, it shouldn't have been. Wizarding history was fascinating, and with the right teacher the students could really learn a lot and enjoy the lesson, however Binns was mind-numbingly boring and most students tended to sleep through his lessons. As she half listened to Binns droning on about what they would be covering over the next term, Hermione made a note to discuss Binns with her father. Maybe when things started to change they could get a decent History of Magic Professor.

Finally, History of Magic drew to a close and the trio headed off for lunch. As luck would have it, they reached the Great Hall just as the Slytherins did. The Slytherins had just come from charms, and while Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass were chuckling over something they'd just learnt, the boys were discussing quidditch.

"Did you hear that?" Ron asked as the Slytherins peeled off to head to their table, while the Gryffindors settled down at theirs.

"What?" Hermione asked, as she checked out the options for lunch.

"Malfoy and his cronies," Ron replied. "They were talking about quidditch practice and it sounds like Malfoy is captain."

"And?" Hermione questioned, feigning disinterest. She actually had no idea if Draco was the new Slytherin captain, but she hoped he was as she knew how much it would mean to him.

"And that is totally unfair," Ron spat. "Why is Malfoy captain, and not Harry? Harry should be our captain."

"I wouldn't say that where Angelina is, or you might blow your chances of making the team," Harry advised. "Besides, I think Angelina will be a great captain."

"Maybe, but this is her last year," Ron argued. "You should have been given the job so you had time to build up your team. Look at Oliver Wood, he was captain for years before he got the team he needed to win the quidditch cup. I'm just saying it would be better for the long term welfare of the team if a decision had been made with the future in mind. Surely it's better to have a captain for three years, then have a captain for one, and then have to find another one next year."

"It's not really our choice, is it?" Harry replied with a shrug. "Besides, I don't think I'm ready to be captain. Not when so many of the team have being playing longer than me. It'll be different if I get the job next year, because only Katie will be left."

"Surely there's people on the Slytherin team who's being there longer than Malfoy," Ron said. He had to admit Harry's reply about seniority did make sense, but he still thought Harry would have been the better choice for captain.

"I'm not sure there is," Harry said thoughtfully. "The Slytherin team have an awful lot of new players each year. Sometimes they even have more than the seven players a year. Malfoy probably is the longest serving player."

"I heard it was because Marcus Flint was a terrible captain," Hermione said. Draco himself had told her of the way Flint used to bully and threaten people on the team. She even knew Draco himself had been threatened with expulsion from the team in third year if he'd failed to beat Harry to the snitch.

"I heard he was a bully," Harry agreed, knowing the same stories his aunt did.

"At least they're keeping things consistent with Malfoy then," Ron sneered. "Replacing one bully for another."

Hermione and Harry shared an annoyed glance, but they didn't confront Ron. Soon enough they wouldn't have to put up with him and his remarks, but for now the best thing to do was to bite their tongues. A change of subject helped get rid of their annoyance, and by the end of lunch, they pair had almost forgotten what Ron had said about Draco.

"I still can't believe we get Potions first day back," Ron complained as the trio entered the dank dungeons classroom and slid into their seats.

Hermione and Harry didn't reply as the Slytherins settled down across the classroom and Severus swept into the room. Slamming the door the second the bell went, Severus stood at the head of the class with a smirk gracing his face.

"This is your O.W.L year, and at the end of the year you'll face a stern test of your skills," Severus began. "These exams will determine whether or not you'll be continuing on with Potions. I only take the top students into N.E.W.T classes, and I can tell you now, most of you won't meet the grade."

When Severus paused, Hermione stuck her hand up in the air. Her brother looked at her for a second, before asking what she wanted.

"What grades do we need to continue with Potions?"

"I only accept students that achieve Outstanding in their exams," Severus replied. "Other Professors may be happy with other grades, but not me. The N.E.W.T work is tough, and I only take the best. I could tell you now which students I'll be teaching next year, but instead I'm going to give you a test so you can see the work you need to do if you want to continue with Potions."

"A test?" Theo cried in dismay. "On the first day back?"

"Yes Mr Nott, it'll sharpen your brain," Severus replied.

"But we haven't studied," Ron protested in a panicked voice.

"Everything on the test is something you've learnt over the last four years," Severus answered as he grabbed some papers from his desk and began to place them face down in front of the students. "If you don't know what's on this paper, you haven't being paying attention in lessons."

Once Severus had handed out all the papers, he allowed the class to turn them over and begin. Some people, like Hermione, Harry and Draco, began answering the questions with ease, where others like Ron and Neville, struggled with the very first question. Severus gave then forty five minutes to complete the test, and when the time was up he magically gathered the papers. After marking them using magic, he began to hand the results out one by one.

"Longbottom," Severus drawled, dropping Neville's test in front of the teenager in disgust. "It won't surprise you in the slightest that you're not receiving the required grade. You're currently a D, meaning you have a lot of work if you want to keep up this class."

"I don't think I do," Neville replied quietly.

"It's probably for the best," Severus agreed with a sharp nod before moving onto Harry. "Potter. Outstanding. Keep up this work, and you'll be back next year."

"You got an Outstanding? How?" Ron asked, craning his neck to see his best friend's work.

"Unlike you, Weasley, Potter actually has a brain," Severus sneered. "Your marks are currently in the D section, falling rapidly towards the dreaded T. Luckily for me, it seems this is your last year down in the dungeons."

A few of the Slytherins snickered at Severus's remarks, and the fact Ron turned bright red as he picked up his test and shoved it into his bag. Oblivious to the fact he'd just humiliated Ron, Severus continued to hand out the test results. Hermione was next, and of course she was in the O category and almost certain of carrying on with Potions.

The only other Gryffindor to reach the required grade was Parvati, although both Dean and Lavender was gaining solid E's and a bit more work would push them up into the top grade. With the Gryffindors done, Severus moved onto the Slytherins. Draco, Blaise and Theo were all receiving O's, along with Daphne. Tracey Davies had an E, and Severus was convinced that with a bit of work she could push her grade up. However, Crabbe and Goyle were dismal at Potions, and Pansy and Millicent Bullstrode weren't much better.

"That was so unfair," Ron complained as the class finally ended and Severus dismissed them. "I hate Snape."

"Poor thing," Theo laughed, as the Slytherins came up behind the Gryffindor trio. "It must be hard being the thick one amongst your friends. Just think Weasley, next year Potter and Granger will be leaving you behind."

"It'll never happen," Ron snapped back, not knowing that Theo had accurately predicted the future, only Hermione and Harry were planning on leaving Ron behind before next year. With a bit of luck, he would be out of their lives by the end of this year.


	8. Chapter 8

On the Friday evening of the first week back at school, which had been shorter than normal due to the fact they'd returned to Hogwarts on the Tuesday, Hermione headed to the library for the first time. She spent an hour doing actual school work in the main body of the library, before she packed up and headed into the secret room carrying a book all about Hogwarts. When Hermione had left Gryffindor Tower, Harry had been playing chess with Ron so she didn't know if her nephew would be able to come down to the secret room. She also didn't know if Draco would be turning up, as she really hadn't had much chance to speak to her boyfriend over the course of the first few days back at Hogwarts.

Even without the boys, Hermione was more than happy in the secret room. Away from the main body of the library, she could finally get to work on the task her father had given the three teenagers. Even though her father and brother were working on an alternative way to get Voldemort into school, Hermione still wanted to be the one to allow him to carry out his original plan. She was determined to find the mysterious vanishing cabinet that was hidden in the school, even if it took every spare moment she had.

Flicking through the large book she'd carried into the secret room, Hermione found what she was looking for. A map of Hogwarts. The map wasn't the best map, having been drawn up decades ago, but it was good enough for Hermione's purposes. The map showed every floor, and how many rooms were on each floor, and that was all Hermione really needed. Settling the open book on the table, she pulled some parchment from her bag and placed it over the pages she wanted to copy. However, before she got a chance to cast her spell, the door behind her opened and she looked over her shoulder to see Draco entering the room.

"Hey," Draco greeted, coming up behind Hermione, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a kiss on her cheek. "What are you up to?"

"Making a copy of the castle for us to work with when we're looking for the vanishing cabinet," Hermione answered, making no move to step out of Draco's embrace.

It still amazed Hermione how easily they'd made the transition from friends, to more than friends. Their basic relationship was still the same, with the added bonus she got to kiss the gorgeous blond boy. Advancing their relationship seemed completely natural to Hermione, and she had to wonder why she'd been so stubborn about liking Draco when Harry first brought it up. She had no idea why she was so determined to downplay her feelings for the blond Slytherin, when getting romantically involved with him had been the best decision she'd ever made.

"What are you going do, mark off where we've searched?" Draco asked, returning Hermione's attention to the present.

"Yeah," Hermione answered. "Do you think it's stupid?"

"Coming from you, not a chance," Draco replied, giving Hermione another peck on the cheek.

Hermione smiled slightly as she turned around in Draco's arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. Just as their lips began to edge towards one another, a book that was lying on the other side of the table crashed to the floor. The pair jumped, turning around and expecting to find Harry, but seeing no-one. Frowning, Hermione went over and picked the book up, while Draco looked around the room suspiciously.

"What happened? Was the book on the edge of the table and we bumped it?" Draco asked.

Before Hermione got a chance to reply, Draco's bag, which he'd dropped beside the door when he'd entered the room, rose into the air and travelled over to the sofa. Draco's eyes almost popped out of his head at the sight, and things continued to get stranger as he felt something tugging at his jumper.

"What the hell?" He cried as the mysterious force began to pull his tie from around his neck.

"Harry," Hermione cried with a laugh. "Stop it."

"Aww, you're no fun, Hermione," Harry chuckled as he whipped off his invisibility cloak and suddenly appeared in front of Draco.

"Bloody hell," Draco cried, almost falling over in shock as his best friend appeared out of nowhere.

"Careful, you sound like Ron," Harry said with a chuckle, earning him a glare from the blond.

"Does someone want to explain what's going on?" Draco snapped.

"This," Harry answered, placing the cloak on the table so Draco could see it.

Tentatively, Draco reached out and touched the cloak. "Is that an invisibility cloak?"

"It is," Harry answered with a smug smirk.

"They're incredibly rare, where did you get it?" Draco asked, still running his fingers over the material of the cloak. He was fairly sure Harry hadn't received the cloak from Voldemort as his friend had mentioned nothing of it before he left to spend the last few weeks of the holidays with the Weasleys.

"Sirius. It used to belong to James Potter," Harry replied, as he explained to Draco how and why Sirius had given him the cloak.

"Potter may have been a bastard, but the cloak is pretty awesome," Draco said. "It could prove very useful to you, Harry."

"Not just me, all of us," Harry corrected. "Come on, you don't think I'm going to leave my best friend's out of the fun, do you?" He chuckled when Draco looked at him in surprise.

"Cool," Draco declared with a grin. "I can't wait to give it a go."

"As cool as it is, it shouldn't be used to sneak up on your friends, Harry," Hermione scolded, although the fact she was smiling told her nephew she wasn't really mad. "How long have you been in here, anyway?"

"I came in with Draco," Harry answered. "I spotted him entering the library, just before I was about to come into the room, and I decided to have a bit of fun with him. I pulled the cloak on, and snuck into the room with him. I then waited for the perfect moment to interrupt."

"I wouldn't say it was perfect," Draco grumbled, recalling just what his best friend had interrupted.

"I would," Harry said with a laugh. "I don't need to watch you two slobbering all over each other, I had enough of that during the summer."

"We do not slobber," Hermione protested. "Anyway, how did you get away from Ron? Last I saw of you, he'd hijacked you to play chess."

"I let him win the first game, and then I told him I had a dodgy stomach and went rushing up to the bathroom," Harry answered with a shrug. "I used the invisibility cloak to sneak away."

"And what if he goes to check up on you?" Hermione asked.

"He won't," Harry replied confidently. "But if he does, I'll just claim I went for a walk to get some fresh air and he just must not have seen me leave the common room. Don't worry about Ron, he'll believe anything I tell him."

"Foolish prat," Draco sneered. "I swear there's not a fully functioning brain in that head of his."

While Draco and Harry chuckled about Ron's gullibility, Hermione turned her attention back to what she'd been doing before the boys had interrupted her. Setting the parchment back over the book as it had slipped off slightly, Hermione pulled out her wand and used a spell to transfer the map from the book onto the parchment. Now they could mark off places they'd searched on the map without having to deface a book.

"You know Sirius mentioned something that could prove handy for us," Harry said, focusing on what his aunt was doing. "When he gave me the cloak, he mentioned a map he and his friends had invented when they were in school. The map supposedly shows the entire school, including all the hidden passageways and secret rooms. It also shows where everyone in the castle is at the time you're looking at the map."

"I don't suppose Sirius gave you this map, did he?" Hermione asked, wondering why her nephew had never mentioned the map before.

"He doesn't have it," Harry answered regretfully. "Apparently it was confiscated by Filch when they were in school."

"And it never occurred to anyone to give them it back when they left?" Draco questioned, shaking his head at the injustice of it all. If he'd had something confiscated, he wouldn't leave school without making sure he had his property back.

"Clearly not," Harry said with a shrug. "Sirius said he would ask Dumbledore if he still had the map, but we can't guarantee I'll be given the map. Dumbledore might not even have the map, or even if he does, he might not want to give it up. Then again, he might not even know it was a map."

"How would he not know it was a map?" Draco asked with a snort. "I may not like Dumbledore, but even I think he would recognise a map of Hogwarts when he sees one."

"The map has an enchantment on," Harry explained. "You need a password to open the map, and when you're finished, you need another phrase to close it. When it's not in use, it just looks like an empty piece of parchment. Sirius and his friends even enchanted it so if anyone tries to use it without the password, it insults them."

"You've got to hand it to Black and his friends, they were pretty ingenious," Draco begrudgingly admitted. "This map sounds awesome."

"I think we should try and find it," Harry announced. "We can start with Filch's office, and then if it's not there we could check out Dumbledore's office."

"Yeah, we can use the cloak so we're not seen," Draco agreed with enthusiasm.

"Isn't it just distracting us from the real work?" Hermione questioned. While the map sounded helpful, she was wary about spending an age trying to find it when they should be looking for the vanishing cabinet.

"We don't need to spend ages looking for the map," Harry argued. "But I do think it's worth a snoop around. If we find it, we'd be in a great position for when Grandpa makes his move."

"I guess we would be," Hermione conceded with a nod. "Fine, we can try and track down the map. But I'm giving the pair of you a week. If you haven't found it by next Sunday, we're starting on the search for the vanishing cabinet."

"We've got a week? Are you not helping?" Draco asked, frowning at his girlfriend. It wasn't like Hermione to sit back and let him and Harry have all the fun.

"No, I'm going to sort strategy for finding the cabinet," Hermione answered as she pulled yet more parchment from her bag and settled down at the table. "Believe me, we are going to find this cabinet, even if it means scouring every inch of this damn castle."

"Leave her to her sorting," Harry said to Draco as he flopped down on the sofa. "We've got adventures to plan."

With a grin, Draco sat down next to Harry and the pair started discussing the best way to gain access to Filch's office, while Hermione started making her own plans on how to find a mysterious vanishing cabinet in the vast castle. For an hour the trio devised their plans, before taking a break to catch up since they hadn't seen each other since the tail end of the summer holidays. Packing her work up, Hermione moved over to the sofa, and snuggled up next to Draco while Harry moved onto the chair opposite the couple.

"So what was it like at the Weasels den?" Draco asked. "Was it horrid?"

"We weren't at the Weasleys, we were at Order headquarters," Harry replied. "Some place called …"

"Called?" Draco prompted when Harry's mouth moved, but no words came out.

Harry tried again to say Grimmauld Place, but yet again the words wouldn't leave his throat. "I can't say it. Hermione, you try."

When Hermione tried to say Grimmauld Place, she also found the words wouldn't come out of her mouth. She even tried writing it down, but all that appeared on the parchment were wiggly lines of ink.

"Damn it," Hermione swore. "Why can't we tell you where we were?"

"I don't know much about these things, but I would say there's some sort of secrecy charm on the Order's headquarters. Chances are no-one but a select few people, can say the name of the place," Draco said, offering his opinion. "Quite clever really, as it means Voldemort will have trouble finding the Order headquarters."

"It's not like he needs it though," Harry said with an unconcerned shrug. "Grandpa's got everything in hand."

"Yeah, Theo's father is well on his way to becoming Minister," Draco said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Fudge was outed before the end of the month."

"And what about the people Father broke out of Azkaban?" Hermione questioned. "Do you know anything about any of them?"

"What's she's asking is if you've met your aunt," Harry told Draco with a chuckle. "We heard Grandpa and Beth arguing about her, and we're pretty curious to see what's she's like."

"Odd," Draco replied. "I'm not sure where's she's living, presumably somewhere with her husband, but I did meet her. She came to dinner, and it was rather surreal. She's the complete opposite to Mother, all wild hair and dishevelled clothing. Then there's the fact, she totally insane. She's always cackling to herself."

"Maybe Mother was right and Father should have left her where she was," Hermione muttered. "She could be a liability."

"I'm not so sure," Draco said. "True, she was absolutely bonkers, but she seems pretty devoted to the cause. I heard Mother and Father talking afterwards, and Father mentioned that Voldemort had warned her to stay in line or she was dead. Father seemed to think, she would obey The Dark Lord."

"She'd be a fool not to," Harry said with a chuckle. "If she steps out of line, I think Beth will be the one to smack her back down. I know Grandpa is scary, but Beth is just as dark."

"Of course she is," Hermione said with a proud smirk. "Everyone knows females are more deadly. Sorry to say Draco, but your Aunt won't stand a chance against my Mother if she screws up. Father may by The Dark Lord, but Mother's no wallflower. She'll put Bellatrix in her place if needs be."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Draco said. "With any luck Aunt Bellatrix will keep herself under control, and be a real asset to your Father. Because, you're right about females being more deadly. From everything I know, my Aunt is one of the most dangerous Death Eaters in existence, it would be good to have her on our side."

"Yes, it would," Hermione agreed. "But she needn't get comfortable being the most dangerous Death Eater among my Father's followers, I intend to take that spot."

Harry and Draco shared a knowing look at Hermione's statement. They believed everything she said about becoming the most dangerous of her father's followers. There was no doubt she had tremendous potential for darkness, and they both expected her to live up to that potential in the coming years. The wizarding world may already be living in fear of Voldemort, but they really ought to be worried about his daughter. She was every bit as deadly as her father, and Harry and Draco knew she would prove it before long.


	9. Chapter 9

With Hermione not giving them much time to find the map, Harry and Draco arranged to meet up on the Saturday evening to try and see if Filch still had the map in his possession. Draco didn't need to make an excuse to sneak away from his friends down in the dungeons, but Harry had to rope Hermione into his plans and tell Ron they were doing some Prefect patrols. Unfortunately, Ron wasn't happy with the news as he'd been hoping to talk to Harry about his quidditch tactics. Angelina had arranged try-outs for the following weekend, and Ron had been hoping to get some advice off Harry.

"But I really need your help, Harry," Ron moaned, trying to get Harry to stay behind while Hermione did the patrols. "Do I try out for Keeper, where's there's a definite hole, or do I try for Chaser and try to usurp one of the existing team?"

"Personally, I would go for Keeper," Harry replied. Even though Angelina had made it clear everyone would have to earn their places back, he didn't think any of the old team were in real jeopardy of not making the team, which left Keeper as the only available slot. Not that Harry really though Ron was good enough to make the team anyway, but he couldn't really say that to his right now.

"Okay, Keeper it is," Ron decided. "Now for tactics. What do you suggest Harry?"

"I really have no idea," Harry said as he edged towards the door of the common room where Hermione was waiting for him. "I've never played Keeper, so I have no pearls of wisdom. Why not ask the twins, maybe they can help."

The second Ron turned to see if he could find the twins, Harry grabbed hold of Hermione's hand, and yanked her out of the common room. Hermione chuckled at Harry as he took off towards the library at top speed, in case Ron should poke his head out of the door to try and capture him once more.

"Have fun," Hermione said as they entered the library and spotted Draco sitting at one of the tables, idly flicking through a book.

"Will you be here when we're finished?" Harry asked quietly.

"As long as you're not caught," Hermione replied. "I've got homework I want to get started on."

"Real homework?" Harry checked, not sure if she meant school work or work on looking for the vanishing cabinet.

"Yes, Harry, real work," Hermione said. Giving her nephew a smile, she headed towards the back of the library and settled down in the main body of the room. She might head into their private room later, but right now she was content where she was.

Once Hermione had left him, Harry darted into one of the nearby books stacks and waited. Not five minutes later, Draco casually approached him. Hidden in the shadows, Harry pulled out the invisibility cloak and with some manoeuvring the two teenagers cloaked themselves. Harry already knew the cloak didn't make them silent, so he'd already warned Draco not to speak until they were away from the library.

Moving slowly, as to make as little noise as possible, the two boys left the library and headed towards the ground floor, where Filch had a small office. Not sure if the caretaker was in his office or not, the two boys darted into a nearby alcove and Harry removed the cloak from over their heads.

"What now?" Draco asked.

"What do you mean?" Harry frowned. "What happened to Peeves?"

Their initial intention had been to get Peeves to cause trouble and distract Filch while they snuck into his office, but Draco had been searching all day and hadn't been able to locate the mysterious poltergeist.

"Damn poltergeist," Harry grumbled. "Never around when you need him."

"So do we have a back-up plan?" Draco asked. "I could nip back down to the dungeons and get Crabbe and Goyle to cause a stir."

"No, you better stay here," Harry said. "I think we just have to take the chance that Filch is out and hope he doesn't come back before we're finished."

"That's awfully risky," Draco said, wondering if there was another way to do things.

"It is," Harry agreed. "But what choice do we have?"

Draco was just about to say none, when he suddenly spotted Crookshanks prowling around in the corridor. Checking there was no-one else around, he poked his head out of the alcove and called for Hermione's cat. Like the obedient cat he was, Crookshanks walked directly up to Draco, curling himself around the blond's legs.

"Good boy, you're just what we need," Draco said, picking the cat up. "You're going to go look into Filch's office and check it's empty, if it is you can then stand guard."

"It amazes me he can understand," Harry said as Draco stroked Crookshanks's head and placed him back on the floor.

Without hesitation, Crookshanks leapt up to the nearby window and darted outside. Two minutes later he was back, and he perched himself outside the office. Draco and Harry took it to mean the office was empty, so they slipped back under the cloak and made their way to the caretaker's office.

"Cry if someone comes," Draco whispered to Crookshanks as Harry quickly unlocked the door and the pair darted inside Filch's office.

Filch's office was a dark, dank and dreary place. The stone walls were lined with metal filing cabinets, and in the corner there was a worn desk, with an uncomfortable looking hard backed chair beside it. One wall housed a large fireplace, and in front of the fire sat a large armchair and a ratty cat basket. Other than that, the room was devoid of any personality.

"Miserable," Draco remarked with an upturned nose.

"Very," Harry agreed. "Let's get this over with as quickly as possible. You start on the desk, and I'll start in this filing cabinet here."

Moving over to the desk, Draco quickly searched it and found nothing of much interest. The only thing that was even remotely interesting was a book for squibs in the bottom drawer, along with a letter from a correspondence school. Obviously Filch was trying to learn some magic, although why Dumbledore wasn't helping him was a mystery to Draco. Draco wasn't sure if squibs could actually learn magic, but he figured if anyone could teach Filch, it would be the headmaster of Hogwarts. Then again, Draco didn't think it would benefit Dumbledore if Filch learnt magic and from everything he'd seen of Dumbledore, he didn't get involved in anything that didn't benefit him.

Deciding there was nothing of importance in the desk, Draco made his way over to the filing cabinets. Starting at the opposite end from Harry, he pulled out his wand and started to open the filing cabinets one at a time. Most of them contained files, and when Draco glanced at them he found they were disciplinary records for various pupils. However, every now and again a drawer would contain things Filch had clearly confiscated from pupils over the years. From what Draco could see, it would appear once the caretaker confiscated something you never saw it again.

"Any luck?" Harry called from across the room.

"Nope," Draco answered, shutting the cabinet he was in and opening the next one. "I've found dung-bombs older than we are, joke wands, some sort of skull trinket and various other joke items, but no parchment. You found anything?"

"I've found your father's disciplinary record," Harry said. "Do you know Lucius and Narcissa once received detention for inappropriate sexual behaviour in an empty classroom?"

"No, but it doesn't surprise me," Draco answered. "Is there anything else interesting in there?"

"Not really, your father was surprisingly well behaved in his day," Harry replied, slightly surprised by the fact there wasn't more misdemeanour's under Lucius's name.

"More like he was good at not getting caught," Draco chuckled.

"True," Harry laughed as the search continued.

Less than a minute later their search was interrupted by the sound of Crookshanks howling a warning. Draco slammed his cabinet shut, and raced over to where Harry was pulling out the invisibility cloak. Harry managed to yank the cloak over the pair just as the door opened and a grumbling Filch entered the office.

"Damn cats, don't know why the students are allowed them," Filch grumbled. Walking over to his desk, he grabbed a notepad out of his top draw, before exiting the room still moaning about cats and students.

"That was close," Harry gasped as he pulled the cloak off them.

"Too close," Draco agreed. "Let's get on with this, no more messing around."

Harry nodded his agreement as they restarted their search. Finally, they found what they wanted when Draco opened a drawer and found stack loads of parchment.

"Bloody hell," Harry muttered when Draco called him over. "There must be hundreds of pieces of parchment here."

"Let's take them all," Draco said with a shrug.

"What if Filch notices?" Harry asked.

"What choice do we have, Harry?" Draco replied with a shrug. "We can't search every one of them right here."

"Let's grab them and get out of here," Harry said as he began to stuff pieces of parchment into his pockets.

A few minutes later, the boys had grabbed all the parchment and had it safely stuffed in their pockets. After quickly checking there wasn't any more parchment in other cabinets, the boys threw the invisibility cloak back over themselves and left Filch's office.

"Thanks, Crooks," Draco said quietly, scratching Crookshanks's head to let the cat know they were done.

"That cat comes in handy," Harry chuckled as Crookshanks darted off into the shadows.

Falling silent the pair made their way back to the library. Finding no sign of Hermione, the two boys snuck into the secret room. Hermione was in the room, curled up on the sofa, a book in her hands. However, she didn't seem to be reading, she just seemed to be staring into space.

"Hermione," Draco called, throwing off the cloak and making Hermione jump slightly. "Sorry," He said, sitting back down on the sofa. "Are you okay?"

"I am now," Hermione replied, throwing her arms around Draco's neck and hugging him. "I was so worried the pair of you would get caught."

"Aw, how sweet," Harry chuckled. "Aunt Hermione was worried."

"I stand corrected, I was worried in case Draco was caught," Hermione shot back at her nephew. "I didn't give you a second thought."

"It's nice to be loved," Harry muttered.

"So, how did it go?" Hermione asked. "Did you get anything?"

Draco and Harry chuckled as they began to pull the parchment out of their pockets and pile them on the table.

"Bloody hell," Hermione gasped.

"Yep, it's going to take an age to sort out and see if any of them are what we're looking for," Harry said.

"Don't we need some sort of password to get it to work?" Draco questioned.

"Yep, so we better get going," Harry replied.

"And what is the password?" Draco asked.

Harry frowned, before shrugging his shoulders. "I have no idea."

"Maybe you should find out," Hermione suggested. "I mean, what are the chances of you just stumbling on the right password. Unless you know it, you're never going to find the map."

"I'll write to Sirius," Harry said. "Then when we know the password, we can try it on all these pieces of parchment. Until then, let's just stash them somewhere."

After hiding the parchment in the room, the trio said their goodbyes and left the library. Before they headed back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry and Hermione popped up to the owlrey so Harry could send an owl to Sirius. They then returned to Gryffindor Tower, where they had time to drop their bags before heading off to dinner with Ron.

Over dinner Ron started boring Harry with quidditch talk, while Hermione tuned the boys out and watched the Slytherins. At the beginning of the previous year, she'd noticed Pansy was all over Draco, but with everything that had gone on with the Triwizard Tournament she'd forgotten to keep an eye on the raven haired girl so she figured it was time to check up on her. Luckily for Pansy, she didn't seem to be all over Draco, even though she was clearly throwing him flirtatious smiles. At the moment she seemed more concerned with sucking up to Theo, which Hermione guessed had something to do with the fact his father was on the verge of becoming the new Minister for Magic.

Tearing her eyes away from the Slytherin table, Hermione refocused on her dinner. She didn't have time to think about Pansy right now. She trusted Draco, and if she still felt Pansy was too close to her boyfriend when she was able to reveal who she truly she was, she would give the Slytherin girl a warning not to mess with her man. For the time being, Hermione's focus was on finding the vanishing cabinet, which would hopefully prove easier if Harry got the password for the map off Sirius and one of the bits of parchment that he'd found turned out to be the map. The map could prove extremely useful, and Hermione would love to have it in their hands when it came time for her father to enter Hogwarts. Anything that would give them an edge, was fine by her.


	10. Chapter 10

Sirius responded to Harry's letter within a couple of days, giving him the passwords to both open and close the map. However, Harry wasn't really able to get away from Ron after lessons and visit the secret room with Hermione and Draco. Instead he had to trust his two best friends to see if they could find the map. Not that it was easy with so many pieces of parchment to check.

"This is going to take forever," Draco complained on the Wednesday evening as they tried to find the map before they headed off for dinner.

"I'm beginning to think the map isn't here," Hermione confessed. "I mean, it was over twenty years ago that it was confiscated. Why would Filch keep something that long?"

"I don't know, he's got records going back decades in his office," Draco replied. "And some of this parchment looks pretty old. I say we have to keep trying."

"I suppose," Hermione sighed, getting back to it.

"So what did Harry tell Black?" Draco questioned. "Won't there be problems if we find the map and then the truth about you and Harry comes out?"

"Harry told him what happened, just leaving you out of things," Hermione answered. "But he's going to write back and tell Sirius he couldn't find the map. We don't want the light getting their hands on it, so as far as they're concerned Harry didn't find it."

"Sneaky," Draco said with an approving grin as he and Hermione checked a few more parchments before calling it a night. "Maybe Harry can help one night," He suggested as they tided away for the evening.

"We've got to get him away from Ron first," Hermione grumbled. "At the minute, Ron's obsessed with getting onto the quidditch team. I think they were heading outside to practise."

"All the practice in the world won't help Weasley," Draco snorted.

"How do you know, you've never seen him play?" Hermione questioned her boyfriend.

"I don't have to see him play to know he sucks," Draco retorted. "He's the Weasel, therefore he's going to suck. Not that it will make a difference anyway, Slytherin are winning the quidditch cup this year. I'm going to create the best team in history."

"Good luck with that," Hermione chuckled, before the pair shared a quick kiss and departed the secret room in the library.

Leaving the library separately, Draco and Hermione headed into the Great Hall for dinner. Both of them had just taken their seats, when an owl flew into the Great Hall and swooped down beside Theo. Since letters tended to arrive on a morning, everyone was curious as to why Theo was receiving a letter at dinner time. Even the Professors looked curious, and were watching intently as Theo tore into the letter.

"Yes!" Theo cried loudly as he read the letter.

"What's up?" Blaise asked.

"Father's done it," Theo replied with a grin. "He's going to be announced as the new Minister for Magic tomorrow morning. He just wanted to let me know before I read about it in the papers."

"I didn't know Fudge had been sacked," Pansy remarked as she slid closer to Theo.

"It happened earlier this afternoon," Theo answered, consulting his father's letter. "All the pressure Father and his supporters have put on him paid off. He was sacked with a no confidence vote, and he's spent the afternoon clearing out his office."

"This is so cool, Theo," Pansy gushed, smiling at her friend. "You're going to have so much power as the Minister's son."

"Yeah, I am," Theo agreed with a grin.

While Theo was basking in the news, the rest of the Great Hall were also gossiping about it. Most people had heard Theo's gloating about his father taking over as Minister, but even those who hadn't been able to make out what was going on, soon caught up with the gossip as it began to spread. Even the Professors seemed interested in the development, and Dumbledore looked seriously concerned with the news Fudge was no longer Minister. Umbridge also looked concerned that her boss had been sacked while she was off at Hogwarts.

Of course the revelation led to a barrage of loud complaints from Ron. All through dinner he complained about Nott's appointment as Minister. Of course he kept bringing up Voldemort, and the fact he had one of his supporters in the most important position in wizarding society.

"You're just jealous Weasley," Draco sneered as the Slytherins departed the Great Hall at the same time as the Gryffindors, and he overheard Ron's complaints. "I heard your father put his name forward for Minister and he was laughed off. Who would want a Weasley loser as Minister of Magic?"

"You can't talk, your pathetic father didn't even put his name forward," Ron retorted, going red at Draco's insults.

"Father has other things to do with his time," Draco replied with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "He's a busy man, you know."

"Yeah, busy being a Death Eater," Ron shot back.

"Better than a loser member of the Order," Draco snapped.

"Did you hear that?" Ron asked, turning to look at Harry and Hermione. "He's just admitted that his father is a Death Eater."

"That's old news Weasley," Draco chuckled. "But at least my family will be on the winning side, you can't say that. When this is all over, you'll be lucky to have any family left. Not that you're guaranteed to survive long Weasley."

"Poor deluded Malfoy," Ron snorted. "You and your lot won't win. We've got Dumbledore and Harry on our side. You're the ones who won't be surviving, not us."

"We'll see," Draco replied with a mysterious smirk, before he stalked away to the dungeons with the other Slytherins following behind him.

"I can't wait until he gets what's coming to him," Ron muttered as he turned and stalked up the staircase.

"That would be good," Harry muttered, only his gaze was firmly on Ron's retreating back rather than Draco's.

Hermione chuckled, spotting where her nephew was looking. Slipping her arms through his, the pair followed Ron up to Gryffindor Tower, hoping he wasn't going to spend the rest of the evening complaining about Theo's father becoming Minister for Magic.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

In order to keep the peace, Hermione agreed to attend the quidditch try-outs on Saturday. Ron had been in foul mood for the past few days, following Nott's appointment as Minister, so Hermione had decided it would be easier if she went to try-outs rather than stay away and give him something else to moan about. He was rapidly becoming unbearable to be around, and at this point she was willing to do anything to making spending time with him easier to cope with. Although, she did want to support Harry so attending the try-outs weren't all doom and gloom.

Settling herself in the stands, Hermione's attention was caught by some movement over beside the Slytherin stands. Focusing on the area across the pitch, she spotted Draco, Blaise and Theo sneaking around under the stand. Hermione figured the Slytherins had come to spy on proceedings, either that or they just wanted a laugh as they watched Ron try out for the team. Either way, Hermione wasn't planning on alerting anyone on the Gryffindor team to the trio's presence. They should be more alert if they wanted to keep things secret.

"Okay, here's how it's going to work," Angelina cried, gathering everyone who wanted to try-out in the stand where Hermione was sitting. "We'll be doing one position at a time. Everyone trying out for that position will get a fair chance to prove their skills. My decision on the team is final, and if you don't like it, tough. Now we're going to start with the chasers. Anyone interested in that position, mount your brooms and get onto the pitch."

"Wish me luck," Ginny cried as she hopped on one of the school brooms and flew out onto the pitch with the other people trying out for the chaser positions.

"She's mad," Ron said, shaking his head as he perched next to Hermione. "Everyone knows the only real position up for grabs is keeper."

"Didn't you consider trying out for chaser?" Hermione asked, remembering a question she'd heard Ron ask Harry the previous week.

"It was a momentary thought," Ron replied with a shrug. "However, I realised I was being stupid. Why try out for a position you won't get?"

"You never know," Harry said from where he was sitting at the other side of Hermione. "Angelina might decide one of the other chasers isn't up for the job anymore."

"Not likely," Ron snorted. "Alicia's her best friend, so she's not going to boot her off the team. And Katie's been on the team for as long as you. Besides, the three work great together. It would be madness to change a successful trio of chasers."

"I suppose so," Harry muttered as he turned his attention to the chaser try-outs.

Ginny was actually pretty good, but as Ron predicted Angelina ultimately went with the established three chasers. However, Ginny did get her name put down as a reserve, and Angelina encouraged her to keep practising and to try out the following year when the team would need two new chasers.

"Are you okay?" Ron checked with his sister as she joined them to watch the rest of the try-outs.

"Actually, I am," Ginny replied with a smile. "I never really expected to make the team, but I just wanted to see if I was good enough. I know now if I keep practising, I can make the team next year."

"Seekers," Angelina called, interrupting the chattering in the stands.

"Good luck, Harry," Hermione called as he nephew picked up his broom, mounted it and swept out onto the pitch.

"He doesn't need luck, he's the best seeker in the school," Ginny said with a dreamy smile.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the red-headed witch's continued obsession with Harry, before she refocused on the trial her nephew was about to undertake. Hermione suspected Harry was rather nervous as he'd never had a proper trial for the team, but he didn't show it as he swept around the pitch, showing off his excellent flying and seeker skills.

"No major surprise, but our seeker is Harry Potter," Angelina announced.

A grinning Harry returned to the stands where they were sitting, as the beaters took to the pitch to try-out. Again things ran rather predictably and Fred and George maintained their positions on the team. Then again, no-one expected the twins to lose their places as they worked perfectly together and they were by far the best set of beaters in the school.

"Last but not least, keepers," Angelina shouted. "Get yourselves over here."

"Good luck, Ron," Ginny said, grinning at her brother as Harry and Hermione also wished him luck.

Much to Harry and Hermione's shock, Ron was actually pretty good. His flying skills were up there with the other people trying out, and in his first round of goal keeping attempts, he only let one goal in. Since the keeper was the only position that would definitely have new blood, Angelina had chosen to focus most of her attention on this particular try-out. It meant the keepers had a lengthier try-out and were slowly whittled down until finally it was between Ron and a sixth year, Cormac McLaggen.

"This is so nerve wrecking," Ginny gasped, clutching onto Harry's arm as Cormac took his place in front of the three rings for the final test. "McLaggen's pretty good."

"He is," Harry agreed with a nod. Personally, he though Cormac was slightly better than Ron, but he might just be biased as he didn't really fancy having Ron on the team with him.

"But then again, so is Ron," Ginny added, still clinging onto Harry's arm.

"Yes, he is," Harry conceded quietly as he watched Cormac save all the goals Angelina, Katie and Alicia threw at him.

When it was Ron's turn, he also saved all the goals the Gryffindor chasers threw his way. Now it looked as though it was going to come down to which keeper Angelina preferred. Or more precisely, which one she thought would gel better with the team. While Cormac may have been good, he also came across as a bit conceited, and Harry had to wonder how he would cope with taking orders from someone else, especially a witch. Whereas Ron would slip into the team much easier, with two of his brothers on the team and his best friend.

In order to make her decision, Angelina called her entire team together and they discussed their options. Like Harry suspected, Cormac wasn't a popular choice as a few of the team didn't like him and thought he would be harder to work with. After all, how were they going to win the cup if the team wasn't a united force? When it came down to the vote, everyone backed Ron, even Harry as he didn't want to raise suspicions by backing Cormac over his supposed best friend.

"We have a decision," Angelina announced. "Our new keeper is Ron Weasley."

"Nepotism," Cormac cried loudly. "This is a bloody fix."

"Sod off McClaggen, you're just jealous that I'm better than you," Ron sneered.

"Nonsense," Cormac snorted. "You're only on the team because your brothers are part of the team, alongside your best friend. Well, you've made a bad call there," He said to the rest of the team. "Mark my words, I would have been the better choice. But now you're stuck with Weasley, so don't expect to win the cup this year."

"Git," Ron muttered as Cormac grabbed his broom and stormed out of the stands.

"Forget about him," Fred said. "Let's go and celebrate our little brother making the team."

"Yeah, and we can also discuss how we're going to win the cup this year," George added. "It's our year this year, I can feel it. We're going out on top, aren't we Fred?"

"We are, George," Fred replied, slinging his arm around his brother's shoulder. "Gryffindor for the win this year, I say."

With a bit of laughter everyone began making their way down from the quidditch stands and back into the castle. Harry and Hermione joined the other Gryffindor in returning to Gryffindor Tower, even though both of them would have loved to gone off and found Draco. They would love to know what their best friend thought of Ron making the team, but they were sure they would find out soon enough. After all, they still had to sort through the rest of the parchments from Filch's office in the hopes that one of them would be the elusive map Sirius reckoned existed.


	11. Chapter 11

Following Bernard Nott's appointment as Minister of Magic, the wizard made an appearance at Hogwarts. Much to Dumbledore's obvious displeasure, the new Minister gave the students a rousing speech about returning Hogwarts to the fine school it once was. Just from his speech it was clear Nott wasn't including Dumbledore in his future plans for the school, even though he did stress that there'd be no major changes until the end of the school year. Even so, Nott had private meetings with both Dumbledore and Umbridge, with the pair of them emerging from the meetings with differing reactions. Umbridge was positively giddy after her meeting with the new Minister, while Dumbledore seemed very downbeat.

In the days that followed Nott's visit to Hogwarts, Dumbledore rarely left his office. Most people thought he was sulking because Nott had told him his days at Hogwarts were numbered, but Hermione, Harry and Draco were worried in case the old Headmaster was plotting something. None of them thought he was just going to fade away without a fight, but hopefully Voldemort would be dealing with him before he got a chance to put any plan he could come up with into action.

Also following Nott's visit, Theo became a bit more unbearable. He was constantly wandering around school with a smug smile, and he and Ron clashed on numerous occasions. On a whole Harry and Hermione tried to stay out of things, but they had been forced to intervene a few times when things looked to be getting out of hand.

"He's such a bloody git," Ron grumbled after yet another run-in with Theo. "He's worse than Malfoy at the minute."

"He's just hyped up because of his father's new position," Harry said with a shrug as the trio made their way to Transfiguration. "I'm sure he'll calm down."

"He's still a git," Ron muttered.

Hermione couldn't help but silently agree with Ron as they entered the classroom and took their seats, the Slytherins following close behind. A lot of the time Hermione knew Theo's behaviour was a result of Draco winding him up and egging him on, but his recent behaviour was purely down to Theo himself. No doubt in time he would calm down like Harry said, but for the moment he was being a git. Although Hermione really didn't have too many complaints considering most of Theo's attitude was aimed towards Ron, which she was guessing was a result of the fact that Theo knew he would get a rise from Ron, whereas she and Harry were more likely to ignore him and not snap back.

As everyone settled down, McGonagall got to her feet and announced the day's lesson. However, before she could even tell the students which page in their text books to turn to the door to the classroom opened and Umbridge strode in with a notebook.

"I don't mean to disturb you, Minerva," Umbridge said with a simpering smile. "I'll sit at the back and you'll never know I'm here."

"And why are you in my classroom?" McGonagall asked, clearly unimpressed with the interruption.

"Just some observation," Umbridge replied as she settled herself down, flicked open her notebook and readied her quill. "Do continue, dear."

A brief flash of annoyance flickered over McGonagall's face, before she turned back to her students and started to bark instructions to them. Her change of demeanour was obviously a result of Umbridge's presence in the room, and everyone could tell the Deputy Headmistress was not at all impressed that she was being observed doing a job she'd been doing for decades.

"What do you think is going on?" Harry whispered to Hermione as they got down to turning hedgehogs into pincushions.

"No idea," Hermione muttered. "Maybe an instruction from Nott."

Harry nodded, knowing what Hermione really meant was an instruction from Voldemort. They both knew Nott was nothing more than a figurehead. All the major changes would be Voldemort's choices, and Nott would just implement the changes to the law that The Dark Lord requested. However, Harry wasn't sure what his grandfather hoped to achieve by having Umbridge study the staff. Severus could give Voldemort all the information he needed, and at least he would know what he was talking about, unlike Umbridge who'd only been at the school for five minutes.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

Umbridge's classroom visits continued for the rest of the week. Most of the time she sat silently at the back of the classroom, like she'd done with McGonagall, but in Friday's Divination lesson she'd bombarded Professor Trelawney with dozens of questions. By the end of the lesson Trelawney, who was never the most normal of Professors at the best of times, was practically in tears as the squat witch in pink sauntered out of her classroom with a warning she would be back.

"Poor Trelawney," Ron said with a slightly mean chuckle as he and Harry left the classroom and headed for the courtyard where they would meet up with Hermione for afternoon break before heading down to Potions to end the day in the dungeons. "Umbridge was pretty harsh on her."

"Yeah, she was," Harry agreed. "I don't think Umbridge is impressed with her as a Professor."

"Who would be, she's terrible," Ron snorted. "All you have to do is predict doom and gloom in your homework and she gives you good marks. Honestly, her classes are a cinch."

"At least someone's classes are," Harry remarked. Even though he was quite clever, he'd found the workload much more difficult this year. However, he was still coping with his work, unlike Ron who was falling further behind on a daily basis.

"Yeah, the rest of the lessons suck," Ron agreed as the pair headed out into the courtyard and found Hermione sitting on one of the stone benches. "Especially Defence, it's so boring these days. I almost fell asleep last week as Umbridge was prattling on."

"Hopefully things will pick up after Christmas," Harry said as they approached Hermione. Umbridge had mentioned that in the New Year they would be turning their attention to their fifth year work, instead of just going over what they should have learnt in previous years. "Hey, Hermione."

"Hi, guys," Hermione replied with a smile as she stood up. "Do you fancy going inside, it's starting to get cold outside."

"Inside is fine with me," Ron said as Harry nodded his agreement.

"So how was Divination?" Hermione asked as the trio headed indoors and settled themselves on a bench in the front hallway. Even though she thought Divination was a pile of rubbish, she found it amusing to hear her nephew regale her of tales of Trelawney and what a fraud she was.

"Interesting," Harry replied.

"There's a first time for everything," Hermione joked. "What made it so interesting?"

"Umbridge," Ron supplied.

"So it was Trelawney's turn for the observation," Hermione remarked. "What made that so interesting? All she does is sit at the back of the classroom making notes."

"She didn't today," Harry told his aunt. "She kept asking Trelawney questions, about how long she'd been teaching and what her qualifications were. At one point she practically accused her of making stuff up. She then threatened to return when she left the classroom. Trelawney was nearly in tears by the end of the class."

"I wonder if Umbridge has the power to sack her," Hermione mused thoughtfully.

"I shouldn't think so. Surely that power still resides with the Headmaster," Ron said.

"I'm not so sure about that," Harry said. "Dumbledore had the decision about Umbridge taken out of his hands in the first place, and all the rumours suggest Nott told him his time was up as Headmaster. He might not have much power any-more."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough if Umbridge tries to get rid of Trelawney," Hermione remarked, getting to her feet as the bell sounded for next lesson.

Making their way down to the dungeons, the trio took their places at their table. As the Slytherins entered the room, Harry nudged Hermione and when she turned round she spotted Umbridge sauntering into the classroom behind Pansy and Daphne.

"I hope Snape gets the same treatment as Trelawney," Ron said gleefully as he also spotted Umbridge entering the classroom.

Neither Harry nor Hermione got the chance to reply before the door connecting the classroom to Severus's office swung open and he emerged into the room. As usual, silence fell in the room the second the Potions Professor made his entrance. If Severus noticed Umbridge he didn't let it show, as he turned to the board and with a flick of his wand instructions appeared in his neat hand writing.

"You have one hour to brew me the perfect calming draught," Severus announced in his usual drawl.

Instantly everyone sprang into action, and within five minutes the students were beavering away at their potion. As he always did, Severus walked up and down the classroom checking on what people were doing. However, when he reached the back of the classroom he was stopped by Umbridge who cleared her throat in the annoying way she did when she wanted to speak.

"Yes Professor, may I help you?" Snape asked in a polite voice that Hermione, Harry and Draco could tell was fake.

"Just a few questions, Severus," Umbridge replied, well aware that all the students were listening to them. "How long have you been teaching?"

"Fifteen years," Severus answered. He never had to think about how long he'd been teaching as he'd started at Hogwarts just after Lily was killed.

"And you've applied for the Defence position several times, I understand," Umbridge continued.

"I've expressed my interest in that particular subject, yes," Severus replied carefully.

"But yet you've been unsuccessful," Umbridge noted.

"Obviously," Severus drawled, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the annoying witch sitting in the back of his classroom.

"Now, may I ask about your qualifications?" Umbridge inquired.

With a long suffering sigh, Severus answered all the questions Umbridge threw at him, while the students got on with their work. Of course all the students were half listening to the conversation between the two Professors at the back of the room, and Ron especially was thrilled with how things seemed to be unfolding.

"I hope Umbridge does have the power to sack Professors," Ron said happily at the end of the class as they were emerging from the dungeons. "She didn't like Snape, did she? I think she was harder on him that she was on Trelawney."

"I can see how she could get rid of Trelawney, she's nothing but an old fraud," Hermione remarked. "But I don't see how she can get rid of Snape. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to Potions. I've even heard it said he's an expert in his field."

"Yeah, an expert in being a git," Ron snapped. "It would be the best thing to happen to this school if Snape was sacked. Now are we going up to Gryffindor Tower before dinner, or not?"

"Drat, I've left my Potions book down in the dungeons," Harry said, as he swung his bag onto his bag. "You guys go and up, I'll be there in a minute."

"Come on, 'Mione," Ron said as he turned to head up the stairs.

"I hate you," Hermione mouthed to a smirking Harry as she reluctantly followed Ron up to Gryffindor Tower. She knew her nephew had made an excuse so he could go and see Severus, but he could at least have made an excuse they both could have taken advantage of.

With Hermione heading upstairs with Ron, and hopefully keeping him from wondering what was taking him so long, Harry bolted back down to the dungeons. He had his excuse about forgetting his book if anyone asked what he was doing, but he didn't run into anyone as he headed to his father's office. Knocking on the door, he was surprised when it took his father several minutes to answer.

"Harry, it's you," Severus said, quickly pulling Harry into the office and shutting the door behind him. "Stay there and be quiet, I'll be two minutes."

Harry was just about to ask what was going on, when he noticed the fire was activated. He'd clearly disturbed his father in the middle of a floo call. Initially he thought his father was possibly talking to Lucius, but when he returned to his call it was clear his old friend wasn't on the other end of the fire.

"Sorry about this," Severus said in a quiet voice to whoever he was talking to. "I'll come down after dinner and we can spend some time together."

Harry couldn't hear the response of whoever his father was talking to, but he noted the way Severus chuckled softly before saying his goodbyes and turning the floo connection off. As Severus stood up, Harry reached the conclusion that his father had been talking to his mystery girlfriend.

"When do I get to meet her?" Harry asked with a mischievous smirk as he settled himself in front of his father's desk.

"Who?" Severus questioned, playing coy as he sat down next to his son.

"You know who," Harry returned. "So? Am I ever going to meet my new stepmother?"

"I need to tell her about you first," Severus confessed. "In fact, I have to tell her everything."

"She doesn't know?" Harry looked at his father in shock, surprised that he hadn't told the witch he was seeing the basic facts of his life.

Severus slowly shook his head. "I've been building up to it. I'm about to share my darkest secrets with her, I needed to know it was serious before I could do that. If I'd told her everything from the beginning, I could have risked everything. She could have blown our cover in an instant."

"And what if she still does?" Harry asked warily.

"I'm hoping she's going to understand, but if I have to I'll obliviate her," Severus admitted. "My family comes first, even if I am falling in love with Rosmerta."

"Rosmerta?" Harry exclaimed, laughing when his father's eyes widened as he realised his mistake. "You're dating the sexy landlady from The Three Broomsticks?"

"Sexy?" Severus raised a surprised eyebrow at his son. "Aren't you a bit young to be thinking witches are sexy?"

"I'm fifteen, girls are very much on my radar," Harry retorted. "But this isn't about me, it's about you. Are you really dating Rosmerta?"

"I am," Severus confirmed with a nod. "We've been seeing each other since last year. Do you mind?"

"If she makes you happy, go for it," Harry replied with a grin. "I just hope she understands and joins our side," He added soberly.

"Me too," Severus whispered quietly, before he shook his head to clear his thoughts and he refocused back on his son. "Anyway, this isn't why you paid me a visit. Is everything okay?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you that," Harry said. "Is Umbridge going to be a problem?"

"Don't worry about her," Severus replied with a chuckle. "Fudge had wanted her to take a look at the staff and find the dead wood, and she asked Nott about it at their meeting. He told her to go ahead and give him her opinions. But even if she doesn't rate me, it won't matter. She's only here for the year, and come next year I'm moving on."

"You're leaving Hogwarts?" Harry gasped, not liking the thought of attending school without his father been around, especially as by then the truth should be out regarding who he really is.

"No, just moving up," Severus chuckled. "If all goes according to plan, I'll be Headmaster."

"Cool, I'll be the Headmaster's son," Harry said with a grin. "I can rival Theo for the wizard with the most influential father."

Severus chuckled at Harry as he once again reassured him that Umbridge wasn't anything to worry about. Instead he reminded his son that he, Hermione and Draco needed to concentrate on finding the vanishing cabinet and checking what sort of condition it was in. After all, if it needed fixing they needed time to fix it and test it before the big day at the end of the year. The trio had work to do, and they didn't have time to worry about a dumpy witch in pink who would be gone at the end of the year anyway.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N – I'm so pleased people are still enjoying Children. I know at times there's a lack of Dramione, but fifth year is a big year – in fact it's the big year in the entire series. There's just so much to get into this year, that at times Draco and Hermione and their relationship has to take a back seat. However, there is Dramione sprinkled throughout the story and in sixth year their romance will feature a bit more prominently, as well as Harry's love life getting a chance to take off. But for now, I hope people carry on enjoying fifth year as there's still plenty more twists and turns to come.**

* * *

Considering they could possibly have a helpful map in their possession, Hermione had agreed to hold off the search for the vanishing cabinet until they'd sorted through all the papers the boys had stolen from Filch's office. However, with the amount of parchments to search through, and the time restrictions on the trio, it wasn't exactly a fast moving job. After a few days, Hermione had let the boys take control of the parchment, while she got on with researching vanishing cabinets. Until they found the cabinet they had had no idea what state it was in, and if they needed to fix it, Hermione wanted to have a head start on things.

The evening before the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, the trio were in the library in their secret room. Harry and Draco were at the table, searching through parchments while they laughed and joked with one another, while Hermione was sitting curled up reading about vanishing cabinets. However, the trio didn't have a great deal of time as Harry and Hermione had only been able to escape because the twins had press-ganged Ron into helping them test some of their newest inventions. Sooner or later, Ron would break free of his brothers and neither Harry nor Hermione wanted him to come searching for them in the library.

"So what sort of inventions are the twins testing on the Weasel?" Draco asked as he threw yet another worthless parchment on the ever growing pile of rubbish. "Anything that will scar him for life?"

"I don't think so," Harry replied with a chuckle. "The twins are actually really clever, and to get to this stage they must be pretty confident they'll do no damage to Ron. Besides, all of their stuff wears off after a while."

"Shame, it would have been nice to get rid of Weasley, and what better way than to have his head blown off by his very own brothers," Draco replied with a wicked smirk.

"Now that would be fun, but it isn't going to happen," Harry said. "Besides, if the twins blow Ron up, they'll never get to open their own shop."

"You want them to?" Draco asked curiously.

"Yeah, I do," Harry replied with a nod. "I like the twins, and they deserve the success. Besides, there joke shop will be awesome."

"But you might not be welcome in it by the time they open it," Hermione called out from across the room.

"Hermione's right," Draco said with a thoughtful nod. "By the end of this year, your true identity will be out. The Weasleys won't want anything to do with you."

"Then the twins will lose a customer," Harry replied with a shrug. "Although, what sort of business will it be if they ban customers they don't like? That's just bad business."

"It is, but people can be funny about these things," Draco said. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see if they hold a grudge."

"I guess we will," Harry agreed as he pulled yet another bit of parchment in front of him and tried the incantation Sirius had told him about. Much to his surprise, the parchment in front of him began to transform before his very eyes. "Guys, I've found it."

Hermione and Draco were at his side in an instant, and together the trio watched as the blank parchment became a map. In awe, they watched as tiny scrolls with people's names on, flitted about a perfect replica of the castle.

"Awesome," Draco gasped. "Potter may have been a bastard, but this is ingenious."

"Yes, it is," Hermione agreed, gazing at the map. "We need to compare this map with the one we found the other week."

"You grab the first map, then," Harry said to his aunt, reluctant to take his eyes of the map. "Hey, you know what this means Draco?"

"You can sneak around without getting caught?" Draco offered.

"Yeah," Harry said with a nod. "But I can also avoid Ginny. She has a tendency to just show up unexpectedly, but with this, she can't sneak up on me."

"Great," Draco said, grinning at his friend as Hermione returned with the map she'd copied out of a book a few weeks previously.

"We're looking for differences," Hermione said as she spread the map she'd made out beside the one in front of Harry.

"I can see one straight away," Draco said, pointing out three scrolls huddled together.

Hermione leant over Harry's shoulder, and saw the three scrolls Draco were pointing to, held their names. When she compared that part of the map to the old map, she saw it was non-existent on the map they'd had.

"So this room isn't marked on the original map," Harry mused. "I wonder what else we can find on this map."

Ten minutes later the trio had found another three unmarked rooms, several passageways they didn't know existed, and a whole other corridor they hadn't seen before on the fifth floor. They also found the passageway they'd used in third year that led to the Shrieking Shack, as well as the Chamber of Secrets. While looking at the passageways and seeing where each one led, Draco found a one that led directly into Honeydukes cellar.

"Excellent, we could sneak into Hogsmeade," Draco said with a smirk.

"I wonder if this is how Dad's been sneaking down to see Rosmerta," Harry mused. He'd filled Hermione and Draco in on who Severus's mystery girlfriend was, and they both expressed their approval of his choice. Hermione approved because she made her brother happy, and Draco approved because in his opinion Rosmerta was pretty hot for an older woman.

"I doubt he needs to sneak anywhere, Harry," Hermione pointed out. "He's an adult, he can come and go as he pleases. As long as he's not neglecting his duties as a Professor, he's free to leave the school grounds."

"But sneaking out is more fun than just leaving because you can," Draco argued. "Besides, it'll add to the romance."

"How does sneaking around add to the romance?" Hermione asked her boyfriend. "I'm sick to death of sneaking around."

"But it's fun," Draco said, grabbing hold of Hermione and pulling her into his arms. "Do you not think it's fun, sneaking around without anyone knowing we're together?"

"Not really," Hermione replied with a shrug. "I just get annoyed when the likes of Pansy are all over you, and I can't say anything because no-one knows about us. Don't you want everyone to know we're together? No more hiding, we can talk to each other when we want."

"I've wanted that since we started school," Draco admitted. "But I want it even more now we're a couple."

"And while all that's very nice, should we get back to this," Harry interrupted, rolling his eyes at the pair. "We'll have to be leaving soon, and we need a plan of attack."

"I think we need to start with the places not marked on the regular map," Hermione said as she returned her attention to her nephew. "How about we explore the mystery corridor on the fifth floor on Sunday evening?"

"Why not tomorrow?" Draco asked.

"It'll be harder to get away from Ron tomorrow," Harry explained. "He's always clingy on a Hogsmeade day. Plus we've got quidditch practice on Sunday, so I can claim to be tired and then sneak out using the cloak."

"I can't wait until we're free of Weasley," Draco said. "It'll be nice to talk to my girlfriend in public, but it will also be nice to talk to my best friend. I'm looking forward to no more hiding."

"That makes three of us," Harry replied as they made a few more plans before parting for the evening.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

As Harry wandered through the streets of Hogsmeade with Hermione and Ron, he wondered if his father had spoken to Rosmerta. He hadn't really had a chance to speak to his father since their earlier chat, but he hadn't noticed him behaving any differently in school. He didn't seem in a bad mood, which surely he would have been if things had gone badly with Rosmerta. Nor did he seem overly happy, which again Harry thought he would see if Rosmerta had accepted the situation. Or maybe, he hadn't spoken to Rosmerta yet and things were still to be decided between them.

"Where are we going for lunch?" Ron asked, interrupting Harry's thoughts.

"It's not lunchtime yet," Hermione pointed out. "It's not even eleven, yet."

"I know, I'm just thinking ahead," Ron said.

"I don't know, probably The Three Broomsticks," Harry replied. "I don't really fancy The Hog's Head, it always looks so dirty. And the tea room is just sickening."

"Are you not into frilly tablecloths and lace doilies?" Hermione teased, linking her arm though her nephew's. "Not to mention all the pink and hearts. It's oh so romantic."

Harry chuckled at Hermione's sarcastic tone of voice. "Sure, it's very romantic if you're a sap. The place is hideous."

"Ginny was just saying the other day that it was really nice," Ron said, looking rather crestfallen. "I was going to suggest we visited it one time," He said, giving Hermione a pointed look.

"Sorry Ron, it's not my style," Hermione replied. "I'm with Harry, I prefer The Three Broomsticks."

"It is a nice pub," Ron conceded. "We'll just go there for lunch as usual."

With plans for lunch decided, the trio continued their trip around the village. They visited most of the shops and chatted to a few friends, before they spotted Fred and George peering in an empty shop.

"Just what are those two doing?" Ron hissed as the pair disappeared down a side alley.

"Maybe they're thinking of renting the place," Hermione suggested. "I know they were looking in Diagon Alley, but maybe Hogsmeade could be an option for their shop."

"Plenty of business from Hogwarts," Harry added.

"It's too soon for them to be looking for shop premises," Ron snorted. "Like Ginny said last year, it's a pipe dream and unlikely to happen."

"You've got to have ambition, Ron," Hermione said. "I think the twins are onto a good thing with a joke shop. I see no reason why they can't run their own business."

"Yeah, because setting up a shop is the perfect way to deal with what's happening in the world," Ron retorted. "They should be worried about You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters, especially as one is now Minister for Magic. The war is more important that a lousy shop."

"I would hardly call it a war," Harry said with a snort. Of course, things could escalate into a full blown war, but at the moment his grandfather was finding it all too easy to gain power without too much violence.

"It's a war," Ron insisted firmly. "Just you wait Harry, we'll be fighting soon enough."

"Well we're not fighting right now, so let's go and grab lunch," Hermione said. Even though it was early, she figured an early lunch was the best way to get Ron to stop rambling on about wars and fighting.

When they entered The Three Broomsticks, Ron was clearly looking for someone, and both Harry and Hermione had to hide their amusement when his face fell as he realised Rosmerta wasn't behind the bar. Throughout the meal, Ron continued to look for the blonde landlady, and he even persuaded Harry and Hermione to spend a few extra hours in the cosy pub, having a few drinks before they headed back to the castle.

"Never mind Ron, you might see her next time," Harry said as the trio exited the pub after several hours and still no sign of the landlady.

"I don't know what you mean," Ron said in a huff as he marched off ahead of Harry and Hermione. However, when he passed the corner of the pub, he froze when he spotted movement down beside the side entrance of the pub.

"What is it?" Harry called, rushing to catch up with Ron, and also freezing when he took in what the redhead was staring at.

Severus was down the side of the pub with Rosmerta, and the pair were engaged in a heated kissing session. In fact they were so into each other, they didn't even realise they had an audience. Either things had gone well with Rosmerta, or his father hadn't told her anything yet.

"Will you two stop staring," Hermione hissed as she came up behind the pair and spotted when had them glued to the spot. "You'll get in trouble if Snape turns round and catches you spying on him."

"Ugh, as if we want to spy on him," Ron muttered as he tore his eyes away from the pair and rushed away from the pub.

Hermione and Harry took one final look at Severus, who was still caught up in a clinch with Rosmerta, and followed after Ron. As the trio headed back up to school, all Ron did was complain about what they'd just seen. One thing was for sure, he'd been cured of his crush on Rosmerta. Seeing her with the Potions Professor he hated so much, suddenly made her seem so much less attractive.


	13. Chapter 13

As it turned out, Harry, Hermione and Ron hadn't been the only people to spot Severus and Rosmerta in Hogsmeade. Before the day was out, rumours were flying around the castle regarding the Potions Professors love life. Much to Hermione and Harry's amusement, and Ron's disgust, the male students all viewed Severus as a bit of a stud for getting himself such an attractive girlfriend. Rosmerta's charms had not been lost on the boys of Hogwarts, and they all envied their Potions Professor for getting involved with such a hot witch.

The students weren't the only ones gossiping about Severus, and the staff had plenty to say. Most of the staff were perfectly happy for Severus, and several of them wished him luck in his romantic dealings with Rosmerta. However, Umbridge was distinctly unimpressed and she was heard loudly complaining about Severus's lack of decorum, being caught kissing his girlfriend in public. No doubt it was another black mark against Severus in her book, but luckily her opinion didn't matter in the slightest.

Following the gossip, Harry was eager to speak to Severus to find out what was going on. Luckily, Hermione was able to distract Ron for a few hours after breakfast on the Sunday and Harry was able to sneak down to the dungeons to see Severus. The conversation was a short one, but Severus confirmed he'd told Rosmerta everything and she was standing by him. Once Harry was satisfied Rosmerta wasn't going to change her mind and turn her back on Severus when Voldemort began his rise to power, he agreed to meet his father's girlfriend over the holidays.

As the gossip surrounding Severus continued, Harry, Hermione and Draco started their search for the vanishing cabinet. Like they'd previously agreed they started their search on the mysterious fifth floor corridor, on the Sunday evening after Harry had claimed fatigue and snuck out of Gryffindor Tower using the invisibility cloak. The trio found the corridor hidden behind an old tapestry on the fifth floor, with a locked door blocking their way. Luckily a simple 'Alohamora' opened the door, and they had access to the corridor.

Unfortunately, the corridor didn't prove to be the breakthrough they were looking for. With several rooms in the corridor, it took them a few sessions to search the entire corridor, but they came away empty handed. All they found was dusty old relics of school days past, no vanishing cabinets.

With the corridor getting wiped off the map, the trio focused on the other secret rooms and passageways marked on the map. However, time passed and everything came up empty, including the normal rooms they searched. By the last few weeks of term, they were still no closer to finding the vanishing cabinet. However, there was one secret room on the seventh floor that they just couldn't find, no matter how hard they tried.

"Are you sure this map is even right?" Draco grouched as the trio stood in the corridor where the secret room was supposed to be located, nearing midnight a fortnight before the end of term.

"It's being right about everything else," Harry pointed out. "And according to this map, there should be a secret room right in front of us."

"All I see is wall," Hermione said, running her hands over the wall in case she could find some sort of hidden handle or something.

"Me too," Draco agreed. "Maybe we need to leave this place and continue the search elsewhere."

"Maybe, but my gut says this is where we need to be," Harry mumbled as he advanced on the wall himself. "I can just feel it. The answer is just beyond this wall."

"What are you, psychic?" Draco laughed. "Come on Harry, it's just a wall. Maybe the map's faulty. It is years old."

"Draco could be right," Hermione said. "There might have been a room here when the map was created, and it's been demolished since then."

"No, that's not it," Harry replied stubbornly. The map was saying there was a room behind the wall, so in his opinion there was a secret room behind the wall. He just needed to work out how to get into it.

"As much as I would love to stay here all night, I have to go to bed," Draco said, stifling a yawn. "We've got a quidditch match on Sunday, and I need my rest."

"I guess you're right," Harry said with a sigh as he turned away from the wall. "We're playing tomorrow, and I need my rest as well."

"Yeah, you'll need your rest if you want to win the match," Draco said with a laugh. "Your teams is going to be right behind in the goal department with Weasley in goal. I don't know what your captain was thinking of letting him join the team."

"To be fair he had a pretty good try-out," Harry said, hardly able to believe he was defending Ron.

"And how's practices been going?" Draco asked with a smirk that said he already knew the answer.

"Abysmal," Harry confessed. "He's wracked with nerves, and it's getting worse as the match approaches."

"Maybe next year if you're captain you can dump him from the team," Draco suggested.

"Maybe," Harry agreed with a grin. "Now do you want us to come down to the dungeons with you, so you can use the cloak, or are you okay to manage yourself?"

"I can manage on my own," Draco replied. "I'm a Slytherin, I'm used to sneaking around."

"Just be careful," Hermione warned as she stepped into her boyfriend's arms and gave him a kiss goodnight.

Harry watched the pair with rolling eyes for a few minutes, before he took hold of Hermione and pulled her away from Draco. As happy as he was that his aunt and best friend had found romance together, he really didn't need to see them in action. Keeping hold of Hermione, so she couldn't plant another kiss on Draco, Harry quickly said goodnight to the blond wizard and manoeuvre his aunt away from their friend and back towards Gryffindor Tower.

As usual, the pair managed to sneak into their rooms unnoticed. As usual, no-one in Gryffindor Tower was any the wiser that Harry and Hermione had been roaming the castle in the dead of night. At this rate, it would be the easiest thing in the world to let the Death Eaters into the castle, if only they could find the vanishing cabinet in order to do so.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

The following day, Draco's predictions came true in regards to the quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Ron's nerves were evident for everyone to see as he took to the sky with the rest of the team, and unfortunately they didn't settle as the match progressed. Within a minute of the match starting, Ravenclaw had scored and it all went downhill from there for the new keeper.

"Oh, this is so bad," Ginny wailed from beside Hermione as they watched yet another goal soar into the Gryffindor hoops. "Poor Ron."

Hermione nodded sympathetically, while inwardly rolling her eyes at the floundering Ron hovering in front of the three hoops. She couldn't help but think that Angelina only had herself to blame for the predicament they found themselves in with the keeper. According to Harry, Ron had been hopeless in every practice session, leaving serious doubts over his abilities in an actual match. However, instead of replacing him, Angelina had decided to give him a chance to prove himself. Unfortunately for Ron, he wasn't grabbing that chance. Fortunately for Ron, the Gryffindors chasers were scoring just as many goals as the Ravenclaws, so at least the team wasn't falling behind.

As the match went on, Ron did start to make a few saves. However, just as his game was slowly picking up, a cruel chant began emerging from the Slytherins stands. At first Hermione thought the song was coming from the Gryffindor stands, as it sounded like people were singing Weasley is our king, but as the words got clearer she could tell it was a mocking song, making fun of the fact he was constantly letting the quaffle into the goal.

"That's so mean," Ginny hissed as the song reached her attention. "It'll just put Ron off even more."

"I think that's the point," Hermione said.

"I wonder if Madam Hooch can stop them," Ginny mused as she stood up and looked around for the flying teacher who doubled as referee for quidditch matches.

Hermione never found out if Madam Hooch could stop the Slytherins from chanting as Harry suddenly darted down in front of the Gryffindor stands and came back up with the snitch clutched in his hand. Harry turned and gave her a quick grin, before he flew off to celebrate with the rest of the team as Madam Hooch blew her whistle and declared Gryffindor the winners.

"Did you see the way Harry smiled at me?" Ginny asked Hermione, squealing like an excited schoolgirl as they made their way down from the stands.

"What?" Hermione frowned, wondering when Harry had smiled at Ginny.

"After he caught the snitch," Ginny explained. "He smiled at me. Finally he's noticing me."

Hermione shook her head at Ginny and her delusions. Of course she could put the red-headed girl right, and tell her that Harry was actually smiling at her, but why should she bother. Chances were Ginny wouldn't believe her anyway. It was easier to just let Ginny think what she liked, and she would warn Harry to be extra careful around her.

In order to warn Harry about Ginny, Hermione separated herself from the red-headed witch and made her way over to the changing rooms to wait for her nephew. The twins were the first of the team to emerge, and after checking Hermione would be at the celebration party, they set off to organise it. Next came the three chasers, laughing about something, and then finally Harry emerged from the changing rooms.

"No Ron?" Hermione asked, sliding her arm though Harry's.

"He wants to be alone," Harry replied. "He's sulking because he sucked."

"I don't suppose the Slytherins song helped either," Hermione said with a chuckle. "Did you hear it?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, laughing along with Hermione. "And I'd bet you anything that Draco was the ringleader. I can just imagine him sitting there making up the lyrics and then leading everyone in song."

Hermione laughed at the imagery as they entered the castle. However, she didn't have much time to enjoy the thought of her boyfriend winding Ron up before Professor Dumbledore approached them and asked to speak to Harry in private. Harry was clearly wary of going off with Professor Dumbledore and he tried to bring Hermione along with him.

"Miss Granger can wait for you up in Gryffindor Tower," Dumbledore said, refusing to be moved on allowing the brunette witch to join them. "We'll only be ten minutes or so, Harry."

"I'll grab us some butterbeers and a seat beside the fire," Hermione offered as she reluctantly watched her nephew being led away by the headmaster.

As he followed Dumbledore up to his office, Harry was on high alert. However, the headmaster seemed his normal affable self as he offered Harry a cup of tea and a mint humbug from the bowl on his desk. Harry politely refused both as he perched on the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"First things first, I want to talk to you about the Christmas holidays," Dumbledore said as he settled himself behind his desk. "I know you normally go home, but Sirius has asked if you can go and spend the holidays with him. I think given the fact Voldemort is back, it's the best choice."

"But I'll be expected at home," Harry argued. He'd already agreed to meet Rosmerta over the holidays, and he was eager to meet the witch who might one day become his step-mother. "My Aunt and Uncle will want me home for Christmas."

"If you have problems with your Aunt and Uncle, I can speak to them," Dumbledore offered.

"No, that's alright," Harry replied quickly. The last thing he wanted was for Dumbledore to go and visit the Dursleys, not when the truth was nearly ready to come out. "I'll write to them and ask if I can visit Sirius."

"Or better yet, ask them if you can stay at school," Dumbledore said. "It could be easier. But as I said, I can talk to them if things get prickly."

"Thank you, Sir," Harry said with a forced smile. "But hopefully it won't come to that."

"Hopefully," Dumbledore agreed. "But that wasn't the whole reason I called you here. I want to talk to you about next term. I'm sure you're aware that my time as Headmaster is drawing to a close."

"So it's true," Harry gasped. "You're getting fired?"

"I'm being retired," Dumbledore said bitterly. "The new Minister made that clear when I first spoke to him. However, it's nothing for you to worry about. Although it does mean, I won't be around the way I'd intended. In fact, the one of the only reasons I'm still here is that I didn't want to leave the school, and you in particular, unprotected from Voldemort. Another reason, is I want to do something with you, Harry. I was going to wait until you were older to do this, but I think it's time we started in the New Year."

"Started what?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Harry, it's time you started to learn about the wizard you're going to be battling," Dumbledore said. "Starting in the New Year, I'm going to give you private lessons and we're going to be looking into the life and times of Voldemort. Knowing your enemy is the key to overcoming them. I'm going to help you the best I can, as you get to know Voldemort so that you can defeat him when the time is right."

Harry nodded mutely, not really sure what to say. No-one had ever mentioned the possibility of him taking lessons off Dumbledore, and he figured his father and grandfather would be very interested in these lessons. You never know, but Dumbledore may just give them yet more ammunition against the light. After all, it had to be a good thing to know just what the Order knew about Voldemort.

"Thank you sir, I'll look forward to our lessons," Harry said as he got to his feet.

"So will I, Harry," Dumbledore said with a smile. "So will I."

Leaving the headmaster's office, Harry headed back to Gryffindor Tower to fill Hermione in on what had just happened. Unfortunately, it was looking as though he would have to spend his Christmas with Sirius and the Weasleys, and something told him Hermione wouldn't be keen on joining him. It looked like he was going to spend his first ever Christmas away from his aunt and family, and he wasn't looking forward to it one bit.


	14. Chapter 14

Even though he expected it, Harry was still disappointed when Severus couldn't do anything about the Christmas holidays. Severus made it clear he wasn't happy about Harry not spending the holidays with the family, but he agreed with Harry that it wasn't wise to let Dumbledore anywhere near the Dursleys. Even though the family had agreed to pretend Harry lived with them if needed, no-one was keen on risking their acting skills against Dumbledore. Instead, Harry just had to suck it up and deal with the Christmas away from the people he cared about. Although on the plus side, it would be the last time he had to put up with Dumbledore and the Order interfering with his holiday plans.

Of course Ron and Ginny were ecstatic with the news, and they were full of plans for how they could spend the holidays. As Harry expected, Hermione wasn't keen on joining him, but since she wasn't asked it wasn't really an issue. Of course Harry could have pushed for Hermione to join them, and everyone would have bent over backwards to accommodate him, but he didn't want his aunt to suffer as well as him. At least this way, one of them still got an enjoyable holiday.

On the last day of term, Harry and Hermione exchanged presents as they travelled on the Hogwarts Express. Obviously because of where he was going, he wouldn't receive his presents off the rest of the family but Hermione vowed to put them in his room for him, so he could open them next time he was home. She would have suggested bringing them to school in the New Year, but it was dangerous to bring stuff from home in case it exposed them.

"Just make sure you keep me up to date with the plans," Harry whispered to his aunt as the train pulled into the station in London and Ron and Ginny were distracted by grabbing their bags.

"Don't worry, we'll have a catch up once we're back at school," Hermione promised as she picked up Crookshanks's basket and her bag.

As they made their way onto the platform, the pair were reluctant to part ways. Ron and Ginny had immediately gone rushing over to Molly, who was going to ensure Harry got safely to Sirius, but Harry remained standing with Hermione. The twins also joined Molly, and soon all they were waiting for was Harry to join them.

"I don't believe this," Ginny hissed as Harry shared another lingering hug with Hermione. "I thought he was finally noticing me, and now he's all over Hermione."

Ron shrugged in reply, but his face was set in a frown to rival his sisters. The closeness between Harry and Hermione often annoyed him, mainly because he didn't know just how close they were. Harry rarely spoke about his feelings, and whenever he did mention Hermione it was as though she was just a friend. However, their actions often showed there was more to their relationship than Ron was included in. When it came to the pair of them, Ron was very much on the outside looking in, and he couldn't quite manage to break into whatever connection they had going.

"Hermione dear, did you not want to join us for the holidays?" Molly asked as Harry and Hermione finally made their way over to the Weasleys.

"I'm looking forward to going home," Hermione replied, stifling the urge to point out to Molly that she hadn't been invited to spend Christmas with them.

After exchanging goodbyes and 'Merry Christmases', Harry watched with a heavy heart as Hermione headed over to Beth and the pair disappeared into the muggle world. However, before he had a chance to really wallow in his misery, Molly announced it was time to go and before he knew it, Harry was whisked off to The Burrow with the rest of the Weasleys.

"We'll head to Sirius's place when everyone's dropped their bags off," Molly told Harry as Ron, Ginny and the twins disappeared off upstairs with their bags. "We're all having dinner together."

"Great," Harry replied with a fake smile, as he wondered what his family were eating that evening.

Five minutes later everyone was ready and the group flooed to Grimmauld Place. At Grimmauld Place, Harry was swamped by Sirius as the older wizard was clearly thrilled to have him around. Finally Harry was able to escape long enough to go upstairs and drop his bag off in the room he'd stayed in during the summer. Even though he wanted to linger, he knew someone would come up and find him so he returned back downstairs.

Remus was still staying with Sirius, and both he and Tonks were present when Harry returned to the kitchen. Sliding into a seat, Harry told Sirius about his first few months back at school with Molly prepared dinner with the help of Tonks. Just before dinner was ready, an exhausted looking Arthur Weasley arrived and slumped down in an empty seat.

"Hi Dad," Ron said with a smile. "You look knackered."

"Long day," Arthur muttered as he said his hellos to his children and Harry.

"I guess running a Department is rather tiring," Ron remarked with a chuckle.

"It's not like I'll be doing it much longer," Arthur grumbled.

"Arthur," Molly scolded, glaring at her husband as turned around from the oven. "Now is not the time."

"What's going on?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, what are we not being told?" George questioned.

"They're going to find sooner or later, Molly," Arthur said. "It's best it comes from us."

"I guess so," Molly said with a sigh. "Just let me sort dinner, and we can talk as we eat."

The Weasley children shared nervous looks as Molly finished preparing dinner. It wasn't until she'd dished up and settled at the table that Ron asked what was going on.

"There's going to be a few changes in the Ministry," Molly announced.

"Surely that was to be expected," Fred said with a confused frown. "Wouldn't any new Minister want to implement changes?"

"Yes, but other Minister's might not have made changes that would have affected me," Arthur replied.

"What changes has Nott made?" Harry asked politely. He was actually rather pleased he was here to hear the gossip first hand, although he was guessing Hermione was being filled in at home.

"He's restructuring the departments in the New Year," Arthur explained. "Due to some new laws he's passing, the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department will be no more."

"What will happen to you?" Ron asked, worried in case his father lost his job. His family struggled enough without losing their main source of income. "And what about Percy? Is his job safe?"

"Percy's already lost his job in the Minister's office," Molly answered with a sigh. "He is still at the Ministry, but in a much lower position with less chance of promotion. He's had to give up his flat and move back home."

"And I'll be moved to another department," Arthur added. "Although it won't be as a head of Department, so it means I'll be taking a pay cut. Things are going to get lean around here, kids."

"Until we win the war and get rid of You-Know-Who and his cronies," Ron said with a snarl.

"Until then we need to pull our belts in," Arthur said. "But we'll discuss it further after Christmas."

"What sort of new laws is Nott implementing?" Harry asked as the Weasleys digested the news about Arthur's jobs.

"They're mainly in regards to muggles," Arthur explained. "Nott wants to totally separate the wizarding world from the muggle world. Travel between the two worlds will be strictly monitored, and muggle artefacts will be banned completely. There's a whole other bunch of laws as well, but they're still being sorted. Details will be coming out in the New Year."

"Muggles aren't the only places he's making changes," Tonks added. "I've heard rumours he's going to look into the laws regarding the practice of dark magic."

"No surprise there," Ron snorted.

"He's also implementing changes in the law regarding House Elves and other lower level magical creatures," Tonks continued. "I don't know all the details, but I do know he's going to enforce laws making sure House Elves are treated fairly."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Harry asked, inwardly smiling as he spotted his aunt's influence in things. No doubt Hermione would be thrilled to hear new laws were going to be put in place regarding House Elves and other magical creatures.

"I guess it is," Tonks admitted. "But one good change, doesn't change the fact his other planned changes are bad for the wizarding world."

The rest of dinner was spent discussing Nott's new regime in the Ministry. Discussion even turned to Hogwarts, and what would happen to the school once Dumbledore was made redundant. Harry was surprised by how casually everyone seemed to be taking the news, but it soon became clear no-one thought it was a permanent thing. As far as the Order were concerned, Dumbledore would be temporarily away from Hogwarts and then once Voldemort and his Death Eaters were defeated, he would resume his position as Headmaster. Luckily Harry knew differently, and he knew Dumbledore wouldn't be around to even stand a chance of retaking his position as Headmaster. His days were numbered, and not just the ones spent in Hogwarts.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

While Harry was finding out all about the changes that were afoot at the Ministry, Hermione was doing the same at home. Severus had joined Hermione, Beth and Voldemort for dinner and Voldemort was filling his two children in on what was happening with the Ministry. Hermione thought everything sounded great, and she was especially pleased about the new laws regarding House Elves.

"And how is the search for the Vanishing Cabinet coming?" Voldemort asked his daughter.

"Slowly," Hermione confessed with a grimace. "Harry managed to get his hands on this brilliant map, but it's showing us a hidden room we can't access. Harry swears the room is there, but Draco and I have our doubts."

"I think I know which room you mean," Voldemort said with a thoughtful nod. "I came across it in school. It's a magical room which presents itself as what you need the most."

"Do you know how to make it appear?" Hermione asked. "All we can get is a blank wall?"

"You walk past the wall three times, thinking about what you want the room for," Voldemort answered. "Try it when you get back and see if that helps."

"Thanks, Daddy," Hermione said, smiling widely at her father. "But what happens if we still don't find the vanishing cabinet? Do all our plans change?"

"We just switch to plan B," Voldemort answered with a shrug. "But we'll discuss all that in the Easter holidays when Harry is here."

"If Harry is here," Hermione corrected with a frown. She wasn't at all impressed with her nephew not being around and she was feeling particularly hateful towards the Order for ruining her Christmas.

"He will be," Severus said confidently. "He told Dumbledore the Dursleys agreed to him not going home for Christmas on the provision he went home for Easter. I guarantee, he'll be here next holidays."

"I should hope so. Things just don't seem the same without him around," Beth said with a wistful sigh.

"No, they don't," Voldemort agreed, before switching the subject to Severus's love life. "According to Lucius this Rosmerta is fairly attractive," He said, teasing his son.

"She is," Severus replied with a nod.

"And when do we meet her?" Beth inquired.

"After she's met Harry," Severus answered. "I was planning on introducing the pair of them over Christmas, but that's on hold now. But I promise, once she's met Harry, I'll introduce her to the rest of you."

"As long as you do," Beth said, a note of warning in her voice as she spoke to her step-son. "And speaking of introductions, you'll be meeting a few more people over the holidays, Hermione."

"By people, do you mean Death Eaters?" Hermione questioned.

"Just a few who already know you exist," Voldemort answered. "A few of my most trusted followers knew about you when you were born."

"Including Draco's aunt?" Hermione asked, remembering what she'd heard about Bellatrix going off the rails when she was born.

"Yes, including Bella," Voldemort said with a nod. "To be honest I'm hoping meeting you will help Bella accept you."

"Or it could make her worse," Beth said, clearly not happy about exposing her daughter to Bellatrix. "After all, she knows me and she's never accepted me."

"That's different," Voldemort argued. "In her eyes, you're a direct rival."

"And in her eyes, Hermione is the reason she can't have you," Beth shot back. "Let's be honest, she never considered me a threat before we had Hermione. Even though we were married, she was confident she could get you into bed."

"Then she's a foolish woman to ever believe I would betray you," Voldemort said, picking Beth's hand up off the table and placing a kiss on the back of it.

"Don't worry, I can handle Bellatrix," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at her mother leant over and gave her father a proper kiss. While her parents weren't quite as openly affectionate as Draco's parents, they could still verge on the embarrassing at times.

"I'm sure you can," Voldemort chuckled. "But we'll be right beside you the entire time. We were thinking we would have some people over for drinks on Christmas Eve, and that's when you can meet Bella."

"I'm looking forward to it," Hermione replied with a grin. She just wished Harry was with her and they could have met Bellatrix side by side, after all her nephew was just as eager to meet Draco's aunt and see if she was as crazy as everyone reckoned.


	15. Chapter 15

On Christmas Eve, Hermione was excitedly waiting to meet some of her father's followers. As well as Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus and his brother Rabastan were among those coming for drinks. Voldemort had told Hermione the story of how they'd ended up in Azkaban, which she already knew thanks to Draco. He also told her that he was giving the trio a second chance to prove themselves. Although he also mentioned that one slip up from any one of the trio and they were done.

The trio weren't the only people coming for drinks, Voldemort has also invited two of his other Death Eaters that had served time in Azkaban, Alecto and Amycus Carrow. The Carrows had landed themselves in Azkaban a few years after Voldemort's run-in with Dumbledore, which meant he hadn't really had the opportunity to break them out before now. However, unlike Bellatrix and the others, Voldemort had no issues with the two siblings. They'd carried on supporting him after his supposed downfall, and their incarceration hadn't been a result of them being negligent. It had just been bad luck the siblings had gotten arrested and sent to Azkaban.

With five new Death Eaters to meet, Hermione was mix of excited and nervous. She knew the meeting would help pave the way for when her true identity was revealed to everyone else at the end of the year, but she was worried about what her father's followers would think of her. Would they hate her on sight, or would they give her a chance to prove herself?

Luckily, Hermione wasn't totally alone in meeting her father's followers. Not only were both her parents going to be present, but the Malfoys, including Draco, were also going to be attending the drinks party. Unfortunately Severus wouldn't be present as he had a prior date with Rosmerta. Plus, apart from the Malfoys no-one knew he was Voldemort's son. Hermione knew it had been kept a secret so that Severus could go undercover with the Order, but she was looking forward to the time when then entire truth was revealed. Not only would she be free, but her brother and nephew would also be free.

"Hermione, go and get some more glasses from the kitchen," Beth called as she entered the front room and found her daughter sitting contemplating the evening ahead. "People will be arriving soon."

Jumping to her feet, Hermione went into the kitchen and gathered some more glasses. By the time she returned to the front room, her father was in the room. Hermione greeted him with a smile as she placed the glasses on the table, just as the floo network sounded in the next room.

"That'll be Lucius and Narcissa," Voldemort said as Beth hurried off to greet their guests.

"And Draco?" Hermione checked, hoping her boyfriend hadn't changed his plans.

"And Draco," Voldemort confirmed with a chuckle.

Hermione smiled widely as she turned towards the door and waited for her boyfriend and his parents to make an apprentice. Hermione was in the middle of greeting Draco when the floo network sounded again and this time Voldemort went off to greet their guests. When he returned he had a witch and a wizard with him, whom he introduced as Alecto and Amycus.

"It's very nice to meet you, Hermione," Alecto said, giving Hermione a smile.

"Of course we have met you before," Amycus added. "But you were a baby."

"Sorry to say I can't remember it," Hermione replied as the floo network sounded yet again.

One again Voldemort went off to meet their guests, and when he returned he had two men and a witch with him. Hermione's focus was immediately on Bellatrix as she sized up the woman who wanted to replace her mother. Hermione decided that Bellatrix was fairly attractive, but she looked ridiculously dishevelled. Her black hair looked as though it hadn't been brushed for weeks, and her lacy black dress was slightly askew as though she'd just pulled it on and hadn't bothered straightening it. Compared to Beth, who looked lovely in a deep plum dress, and Narcissa who was wearing a midnight blue number, Bellatrix looked second rate.

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Granger," Rodolphus declared, bowing his head in respect as he greeted Hermione. Rabastan followed suit and greeted Hermione with respect, while Bellatrix rolled her eyes at her husband and brother-in-law.

While the two Lestrange wizards greeted Hermione and accepted drinks off Voldemort, Bellatrix took the opportunity to glance around the home of the wizard she would do anything for. As she studied the room she became aware everyone was waiting for her reaction, so she took her time before speaking.

"Interesting place you've got here, Beth," She finally said. "Very homely."

"This place is home, Bella," Beth replied with a sweet smile, ignoring what was obvious an insult from Bellatrix. "I'm sure you'll get used to having one again now you're finally out of Azkaban. It's been a long time for you, hasn't it?"

"It has," Bellatrix replied, her dark eyes flashing at the mention of how long she'd been stuck in prison. "But finally I'm free." Turning to Voldemort, she flashed him a flirtatious smile. "All thanks to The Dark Lord."

"Just you make sure to remember it, Bella," Voldemort warned as he slipped his arm around Beth's waist. "I got you out, and I can make sure you go back there if I so desire."

"Ah yes, Nott," Bellatrix sneered. "Was he really the best you could do as Minister? Was Lucius not up to the task?" She added, giving her sister's husband a mocking grin.

"Lucius would have been a fine Minister, but I need his talents elsewhere," Voldemort replied. "I can't spare someone so important to the cause. I need Lucius by my side."

Bellatrix visibly bristled at the comment, but she said nothing as she slowly turned her attention to Hermione. Hermione could feel the older witch scrutinising her, but she refused to be intimidated by Bellatrix. She just stood staring back at Bellatrix as Draco's aunt gave her the once over.

"You know, you're very familiar," Bellatrix mused. "I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before."

"I can't imagine where," Hermione replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm very picky about who I associate with."

Beside Hermione, Draco stifled his laugh at his aunt's shocked expression. However, Lucius and Voldemort didn't bother to hide their amusement, which only seemed to annoy Bellatrix further. Hermione wondered if the witch was going to blow up when her father handed her a glass of wine.

"Drink this and lighten up, Bella," Voldemort ordered.

Bellatrix moodily took the wine glass and sat down in a spare seat as the group began making small talk. Hermione settled herself down next to Draco, but she could feel Bellatrix watching her intently. She wasn't sure if the older witch was still trying to decide where she knew her from, or if she was studying the way she was holding onto Draco's hand and his parents were addressing her with such affection. Ten minutes later she got her answer when Bellatrix suddenly screeched out loud.

"For Merlin's sake Bella, what are you cackling about?" Narcissa asked, unimpressed with the way her sister was handling herself.

"I know where I know you from," Bellatrix said to Hermione, leaning forward and glaring at the brunette teenager. "I've seen you in the papers."

"The papers?" Hermione frowned.

"Yes, you were in the Daily Prophet," Bellatrix replied. "Last year when the Potter boy was in the Triwizard Tournament. There were pictures of you alongside him, you're his friend," She spat, looking thoroughly disgusted at the young witch in front of her.

"Yes, I do believe my picture was in the papers alongside Harry," Hermione replied with a nod. "I forget about it as that Rita Skeeter really was a terrible reporter."

"So you don't deny it, you're friends with Harry Potter?" Bellatrix questioned, giving Voldemort a triumphant smirk as though she was revealing something major to him.

"Yes, I'm friends with Harry," Hermione confirmed. "We're very close."

"And you allow this?" Bellatrix demanded of Beth, as though she was the one in control of who Hermione associated with at school.

"We are well aware of Hermione's relationship with Harry," Voldemort told his stunned followers. Even though no-one else had dared to question The Dark Lord and his family, it was clear they were all as stunned by Bellatrix's revelations.

"So it's a ploy?" Bellatrix asked. "She's luring him into a trap for you?"

"Why would I want Harry in a trap?" Voldemort questioned with a laugh.

"He caused your downfall," Bellatrix pointed out. "Because of him, you spent years without power. Besides, all the rumours say he's going to be your downfall. There's a prophecy apparently."

"Ah yes, the prophecy," Voldemort said. "The one Dumbledore says exists, and because he says it exits, it must do. Truth be told, I'm still looking into the prophecy. But I can tell you all this, if there is a prophecy Harry isn't the boy mentioned in it. He is not my downfall, and there'll be no luring him into a trap."

"Is it true Barty Crouch Jr tried to do such a thing last year and you killed him?" Rabastan asked hesitantly.

"It is," Voldemort confirmed with a nod. "And I will kill anyone else who acts without my say so where Harry or anyone else in concerned. I don't like people acting for me when I haven't told them to. Something, three of you are very aware of."

"Yes My Lord," Rodolphus said, lowering his head slightly. "We'll never do anything like that again."

"I should hope not, I don't give third chances," Voldemort replied. "You're lucky to even get a second chance."

"So if the Potter boy isn't the one in the prophecy how did he defeat you all those years ago?" Bellatrix asked, unconcerned by Voldemort's reminder of the thin ice she was on alongside her husband and brother-in-law.

"No-one defeated me, Bella, I was just temporarily out of the game," Voldemort replied. "And that was all down to Dumbledore. He was the one who cursed me, it had nothing to do with Harry. Now, enough of the questions, this evening is all about you getting to know Hermione. Very soon the entire world will know about my daughter, and I want to make sure she has people she can rely on."

"You can count on us," Amycus vowed.

"That's what I was hoping for," Voldemort replied with a slow smile. "Very soon, I'll have an important job to do and I want to surround myself with people I can trust."

"You can trust us," Bellatrix said.

"Words are meaningless Bella, actions are what is required for you to regain my full trust," Voldemort said.

Hermione smirked as Bellatrix bristled yet again. The evening wasn't turning out the way Bellatrix had clearly hoped, and that was perfectly okay by Hermione. So far Draco's aunt had failed to win her over, and Hermione had a gut feeling that the older witch was going to be trouble. Even if she did manage to win the full trust of her father, Hermione wasn't going to let her guard down when it came to Bellatrix. She was ready for whatever Bellatrix had to throw at her, and she determined to come out on top. It was going to take more than Bellatrix Lestrange to stop her from becoming the darkest witch the wizarding world had ever seen.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

While Hermione was sizing up her competition in Bellatrix, Harry was stuck playing happy families with Sirius. After days of the rest of the Order, specifically the Weasleys, hanging around Grimmauld Place and preparing for Christmas, which was going to be held at headquarters, Harry finally got some peace on Christmas Eve. Even though Molly had made it clear Christmas lunch would be taking place at Grimmauld Place, the Weasleys had actually gone home to celebrate Christmas Eve as a family. Ron had tried to persuade Harry to join them, but Harry had managed to stay behind at Grimmauld Place. The only problem was Sirius, after leaving him alone practically all day he insisted Harry join him in the front room after they'd eaten dinner.

"There's something serious I want to talk to you about," Sirius said as the pair settled in the front room.

Harry nodded, expecting that Sirius was just going to regale him with more stories about his supposed father, James Potter. One of the down sides to staying with Sirius was the constant stories, and the pretence he had to put on to seem interested when what he really wanted to do was tell Sirius to shut up about the bastard that was responsible for his mother's death. However, he was still playing the part of the good boy, so he bit his tongue and pretended as though the stories were great.

"I've already ran this past Dumbledore, and he agrees that what I'm about to suggest is the best move for everyone," Sirius began, fidgeting nervously as he perched on the edge of the sofa. "I want you to come and live with me."

"What?" Harry's mouth dropped open in shock and he was lost for words as Sirius's suggestion hit him for six.

"Think about it Harry, you can finally have the family you deserve," Sirius said. "I'm sure your aunt and uncle do their best, but they can't understand you like I can. I understand about magic and the pressures of being a wizard. I know your past, and I can fill in holes they can't, even though Petunia is Lily's sister. This is where your parents would want you to be, Harry. They would want you to be with people who love you."

"I'm sure they would," Harry muttered, his head still spinning.

"So what do you say?" Sirius urged. "Do you want to move in with me?"

Harry was smart enough to know Sirius asking him was merely a courtesy, the decision had already been made and nothing he could say would change what was going to happen next. "When would I move in?" He asked.

"That's your choice," Sirius replied, grinning widely at Harry as it looked as though he'd agreed to the move. "Next holidays. I can talk to Dumbledore, and he'll sort everything with your aunt and uncle."

"No, I'd like to do that," Harry said quickly, trying to buy himself some time. "I can go back home at Easter and talk to them properly. They've looked after me all these years, I owe them a proper explanation. I can then move in over the summer."

"If that's what you want," Sirius replied, not wanting to go against Harry's wishes. "But it's going to be brilliant, Harry. Just you wait and see, we're going to have so much fun."

"I can't wait," Harry replied, shooting Sirius a fake smile as his godfather began raving about what they could do once they were living together.

Harry half listened to Sirius as he thought about what a lucky escape he was going to get. If his grandfather hadn't already made plans to move at the end of the year this bombshell could have been the motivation he needed. However, plans were already afoot and by the summer holidays, Harry's true identity would be known by everyone. Moving in with Sirius wouldn't be an issue as Sirius and the rest of the Order would most likely hate him. Not that Harry minded, he was looking forward to being himself and no longer having to hide behind the name Potter. Finally he would be able to take his true identity as Harry Snape, son of Severus and Lily.


	16. Chapter 16

As much as Hermione had enjoyed her Christmas break, she was happy to get back to school in the New Year. She'd enjoyed the time spent with her family and Draco, but she'd missed Harry like mad. Luckily with the information she'd received about the secret room from her father, they would be able to try and find the vanishing cabinet and set things in motion for her father's big entrance at school, meaning there would be no more holidays without her nephew.

On the day the train was due to travel back up to Hogwarts, Hermione was at platform nine and three quarters as early as possible. It meant Hermione had already chosen a compartment and had settled Crookshanks when Harry turned up with the Weasleys. Hermione watched Harry through the windows of the train, easily able to spot how much of an act her nephew was putting on. Fortunately no-one else could see it and the Weasleys were convinced that Harry genuinely enjoyed spending time with them.

Not wanting to get caught up with Molly, Hermione remained on the train as Harry said his goodbyes. However, she hovered in the doorway of the compartment, waiting for Harry and Ron to board the train. When they did she waved them over and gave Harry a big hug. Of course she also had to hug Ron, but she quickly stepped out of his embrace and hurried back into the compartment.

"Did you have a nice Christmas?" Hermione asked, making it look as though she was enquiring about both Harry and Ron, when it was just Harry she was interested in.

"It was awesome," Ron replied. "Well, most of it."

"Most?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, wondering if Ron was talking about the changes at the Ministry which would surely affect Arthur.

"We did have a bit of bad news," Ron admitted. "That damn Nott has gone and changed all sorts of laws at the Ministry. It means Dad will be switching departments, therefore he'll no longer be head."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, injecting some sympathy into her voice even though she didn't feel any. "I guess that means he's having to take a pay cut."

"Yeah," Ron grumbled. "Bloody Nott ruining out lives."

"Maybe these changes won't go through," Harry said, also faking sympathy. "Your dad did say it's all to be finalised."

"We all know all the changes will go through," Ron snorted. "You-Know-Who is starting to take control. He's starting with the Ministry, but soon it will be action. You just wait, before long we're going to have to fight. But at least now you'll be better prepared, Harry. You'll be right in the thick of the action."

"What does he mean?" Hermione asked with a frown, turning to her nephew. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something?"

"You haven't told her?" Ron asked in surprise. "I thought you were writing to Hermione the other day."

"I did write the other day, but I didn't mention it," Harry replied.

"Mention what?" Hermione demanded with a slight snarl. "What is going on, Harry?"

"Relax Hermione, you sound like his mother," Ron laughed. "I'm sure Harry was going to tell you everything."

"Of course I am," Harry interjected. "Just give me a chance. Ron is talking about the fact that in the summer I'm going to be moving in with Sirius."

"You what now?" Hermione questioned, not sure if she'd heard right.

"Sirius wants me to move in with him," Harry explained. "I'm going to visit my aunt and uncle over the Easter holidays, and providing they had no problems, I'll be moving in with Sirius in the summer."

"It's going to be great," Ron enthused as he got to his feet. "I'll be back in a minute, I just need to pop to the loo."

Hermione had waited until Ron had left the compartment, before she moved over to sit next to Harry. "Seriously? They want you to live with Sirius?"

"Yeah, it was all decided," Harry answered with a nod. "Sirius made it sound as though he was asking, but it was very clear the decision had already been made. I'm just pleased we've got this plan in motion and by the end of the year everyone will know the truth. Grandpa does have a backup plan for if we don't find the cabinet, doesn't he?"

"I think so, but he told me how to access the secret room," Hermione replied. "Hopefully we'll find the cabinet in there."

"Hopefully," Harry said with a nod of his head. "I can't wait to drop this act. This was the worst Christmas ever."

Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic smile as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Don't worry, next year things will be back to normal. We'll be together for Christmas, just like every other year."

"I can't wait," Harry replied, giving Hermione a hug before she moved back over to her seat before Ron returned. However, that was all in the future, before that they had another several months of school to get through.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

It only took a few days for the students to settle back into the regular routine. After less than a week back at school it was as though the holidays had never happened, and people started to look forward to the Easter break. As it always happened when they first returned to school, Harry, Hermione and Draco weren't able to meet up for the first few days as they were too busy catching up with other people.

"We need to get searching for this cabinet," Hermione whispered to Harry as the pair followed Ron to Defence after lunch. They'd been back at school for a few days now, and Hermione was eager to get on with business.

"I'll try and get word to Draco, maybe we can meet up tonight," Harry whispered back.

"What about Ron?" Hermione asked, gesturing to the redhead who was walking a few paces ahead of them chatting to Neville.

"Maybe we can land him in detention or something," Harry suggested with a shrug.

"And how do you suggest we do that without ending up there ourselves?" Hermione questioned. "We can't even recruit Severus to help us as we don't have Potions until tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I'll think of something," Harry promised, just as the group reached the Defence classroom.

"Here goes another term of the most boring lessons on earth," Ron complained as the Gryffindors entered the room and took their seats. "Umbridge's lessons are so dull, they make Binns's History of Magic classes seem exciting."

Hermione rarely agreed with Ron, but as she took her seat she thought the redhead had a point. The previous terms Defence lessons had been the most boring lessons Hermione had ever endured, and it wasn't as if they'd had a range of decent Defence Professors. However, at the moment Umbridge was even making the incompetent Lockhart and the nervous Quirrell, seem like grade A teachers.

Fortunately for the students, when Umbridge began her lesson it was very different from the past term. Finally the plump witch was satisfied the class was caught up on the work they should have done over the previous four years, and she was now ready to begin working on their fifth year work.

"Given how behind you were at the start of the year, we've got less time than normal to get through this year's work," Umbridge began. "So I expect everyone to work their hardest, and there will be no excuses for falling behind. Let's begin, open your pages at chapter one and quietly read it. In ten minutes, I will be asking questions and anyone giving me a wrong answer or not knowing the answer will end up losing house points."

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered beside Harry. "I can't read this chapter in ten minutes. Can you?"

"No," Harry admitted. "But I've already read it, so I'll just be refreshing my memory."

"Why have you already read it?" Ron whined.

"Hermione advised me to," Harry replied. "In fact she mentioned it to us both. She said we should still be looking at this year's work even though Umbridge had us going over old stuff."

"Damn, I just tune her out when she starts banging on about homework," Ron grumbled.

Harry shrugged, having no sympathy with Ron for not being prepared. Tuning out Ron's grumblings, Harry quickly scanned through the first chapter, refreshing his memory. Ten minutes later he was fairly sure he knew what he was focusing on when Umbridge called for the class to shut their books. Beside him, Ron was still grumbling as he slowly shut his book.

"Let's just hope she doesn't ask me anything," Ron whispered to Harry.

Unfortunately for Ron, Umbridge had picked up on the whispering and shot the first question his way. Predictably Ron didn't know the answer, and as he was stumbling over his response, Hermione piped up and gave the correct answer.

"Correct, Miss Granger," Umbridge said. "But next time, wait to be asked."

"Sorry," Hermione mumbled, slouching back down in her seat. It was just so good to actually be learning something new in Defence she'd forgotten herself.

For the next ten minutes, Hermione raised her hand at every question, and every time Umbridge looked past her and picked on someone else. Hermione's annoyance grew each time she was overlooked, and when Neville didn't know the answer to the question he was asked she couldn't help but interject and give the correct answer.

"Miss Granger, I do believe I've already warned you about interrupting," Umbridge tutted. "I will not stand for such insolence in my class. You can join me in detention on Friday evening."

"You're giving me detention for knowing the answers?" Hermione asked in disbelief as the Slytherins over the other side of the classroom openly chuckled at her misfortune.

"Your detention is for your interruptions," Umbridge explained. "And if you keep talking, I'll make it two night's detentions."

"Look at the golden girl getting into trouble," Theo crowed with a laugh as Hermione shot murderous looks as Umbridge.

"Mr Nott, what would your father think of such behaviour?" Umbridge scolded, turning her attention to the Slytherin boy.

"He'd just laugh," Theo replied with a shrug. "He hates bossy little know-it-all's. And they don't come much more annoying than Miss Perfect over there."

"That is enough," Umbridge said sternly. "Since you find Miss Granger's circumstances so amusing, perhaps you'd like to join her in detention."

"No, thanks, I'll pass," Theo replied with a cheeky grin.

"That wasn't a request Mr Nott, it was an order," Umbridge said as she turned and stalked back to her desk. "The pair of you will come to my office after dinner on Friday evening. And now, thanks to the pair of you, the entire class will answer these five questions on the board before the end of class. Anyone failing to do so, will complete the assignment as homework and hand it in to me first thing in the morning."

The entire class broke out in groans, as Umbridge flicked her wand and five questions pertaining to the first chapter in the book appeared on the board at the front of the class.

"Nice one, Granger," Theo snarled.

"You should have kept your mouth shut, Nott," Hermione snapped back, not at all amused at what had just happened.

"The pair of you should have kept quiet," Umbridge called, glaring at the pair. "One more word from either of you this afternoon and you'll be in detention with me until further notice."

Hermione and Theo both levelled murderous glares at Umbridge before turning to their work along with their grumbling classmates. Neither of them were happy with the situation, but both were determined to finish the work in class so they didn't have extra work to do that evening.

Ironically it was the extra work that led to Harry and Hermione being able to slip away from Ron later that evening. The pair had both managed to finish their work in Umbridge's class, whereas Ron hadn't managed to even finish answering the second question. Therefore he was stuck with extra work, and before she left to head to the library, he made sure Hermione knew it was her fault he was stuck with extra homework.

"It's not my fault Umbridge is a complete cow," Hermione snapped at Ron when he complained to her. "She should have been pleased someone knew the answers to her questions. Most people didn't have a clue what she was talking about."

"Most people couldn't get the chapter read in ten minutes," Ron retorted.

"I can't help it of people are slow readers," Hermione replied with a shrug. "I'll leave you to get on with it, and I'm going to the library to do my Ancient Runes homework. Are you coming Harry, and we can share a book?"

"Sure." Picking up his bag, which contained the map and invisibility cloak, Harry slung it over his shoulder and the pair headed off to meet Draco on the floor where the mystery room was located.

When the trio met up, Hermione had a mini rant to her boyfriend about Umbridge, before he calmed her with a kiss. When the kiss started to get a bit heated for Harry's liking, he broke them apart and the trio set about revealing the secret room. Just as Voldemort had said, walking in front of the wall thinking about what they wanted revealed a wooden door.

"Here goes," Harry said, grinning at Hermione and Draco as he pulled open the door.

The sight that greeted them had the smiles dropping from their faces. Instead of a simple room contain the cabinet, which was what they were hoping for, they were faced with a massive storage room. The room was stacked from floor to ceiling with all sorts of junk, and it would clearly take an age to sort through.

"I guess we knew this wasn't going to be easy," Draco remarked as the trio tentatively entered the room. "Do you think the cabinet is in here?"

"I don't know," Hermione replied. "But just in case, we need to keep checking the rest of the school. It's going to take weeks to sort through all this lot, and I don't want to do that only to find the cabinet was hidden somewhere we didn't check because we got caught up in this room. We need to split our time between searching here, and continuing our other searching."

"Agreed," Draco said with a nod. "But right now, why don't we just take a quick look around the room. It would be good to know what exactly we were dealing with."

Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement and the trio set about exploring the room. Unluckily for them the room was even bigger than they'd first anticipated. Ten minutes into their search and they hadn't even reached the back of the room, let alone made it to either of the two sides. It was going to be a long job searching the room, and Hermione feared it would take them longer than the time they had available to them. She would have to write to her father and tell him to get working on his back-up plan, because if the cabinet was in the room they were currently in it was going to take a stroke of luck for them to find it in time. However, she wasn't giving up just yet. You never knew when luck would strike and they would be led to where they wanted to be.


	17. Chapter 17

Hermione always despised detentions, but she especially hated them when she felt she didn't deserve to be punished. The detention with Umbridge was the perfect example of Hermione thinking she'd been punished unfairly. True, she'd been a bit eager in her desire to answer the questions, but at least she'd bothered to learn what they'd been reading about. Bar a few others, like Harry and Draco, she was one of the only ones to actually know what Umbridge was talking about, and for that she had to suffer through detention with the old hag. Although, it was much worse because she was having detention with Theo, and he was still gloating over the fact she'd gotten into trouble.

"This is so much fun," Theo gloated as the pair happened to turn up at Umbridge's office at the same time. "I love seeing the golden girl in trouble."

"Why does it make you feel better that you're always in trouble?" Hermione retorted.

"No, it's just fun to see you Gryffindorks get what's coming to you," Theo replied with a grin. "Everyone thinks you lot are so perfect, but you're not. It's nice when someone finally sees through your act."

"And what makes you think anyone has seen through my act?" Hermione asked with an amused chuckle. "I assure you Theo - that is very much intact."

Theo frowned in confusion, but before he could question Hermione's mysterious words, she'd knocked on the office door and Umbridge quickly opened it. Thanking the pair for arriving so promptly, the Defence Professor ushered them into her office.

"Bloody hell," Theo muttered with a grimace as he entered a pink, ultra-feminine room. The walls were painted bright pink, and lace doilies covered very available surface. But most disturbing of all were the dozens of cat plates behind Umbridge's desk, and the cats wandering in and out of the plates.

"Is there a problem, Mr Nott?" Umbridge asked, pursing her lips as she glared at the young Slytherin.

"No, Ma'am, I'm just admiring your décor," Theo replied. "It's very original."

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Umbridge replied with a sickly smile. "But enough about my talents for interior design, you two are here to learn a lesson."

Without further ado, Umbridge flicked her wand at a nearby table and two chairs appeared at either end, along with two pieces of parchment. Pulling out two quills from her top drawer, she handed one to each of her students.

"Mr Nott, on your parchment I want you to write, I will not laugh at the misfortune of others," Umbridge instructed. "And Miss Granger, you're to write, I will not speak in class unless spoken to."

"How many times do we have to write it?" Hermione asked with a sigh as she sat down in one of the chairs.

"Until it sinks in," Umbridge replied with another of her simpering smiles. "Now get to work, I have work of my own to do."

"We need some ink," Theo said as he slid into the chair opposite Hermione.

"No need for ink, the quills are magical," Umbridge called back. "Now get cracking or you'll be back with me tomorrow evening as well."

Hermione shot Umbridge a glare, which the older witch missed as she'd already sat down at her desk. Knowing there was no other choice but to get on with her punishment, Hermione turned to her parchment and began writing what Umbridge had told her to, and sure enough the words appeared in red ink on the page. The second she started to write she felt a slight pain in her left hand, and she wondered if Umbridge had magically enchanted the quill to cause pain. Deciding she was being stupid, Hermione pressed on and wrote her first sentence.

"Bugger," Theo swore softly opposite her.

When Hermione looked up she spotted the Slytherin shaking his left hand. "Is your hand hurting as well?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah," Theo answered. "The bitch must have enchanted the quills somehow."

Hermione nodded her agreement, and very unhappy with the situation, she wrote out her sentence a few more times. Every time she wrote the sentence her hand stung, and from the way Theo was muttering to himself, he was also suffering from whatever magic Umbridge was using.

"You're not stopping, are you?" Umbridge called, glaring across the room at the two students.

"No," Theo replied grumpily, returning to scratching his own sentence onto the parchment in front of him.

Hermione also returned to writing out her own sentence, but when her hand continued to throb she glanced down at it and was appalled at what she saw. On the back of her hand were scratches, and when she looked closely at them she saw it was writing. In fact it was the exact same words which she was writing onto the parchment. Hardly able to believe her eyes, Hermione laid her hand down on the table and slowly began to write again. As she did so, she watched her hand and her fears were confirmed. The words she was writing on the parchment were appearing on her hand, and the red ink was likely connected to her blood.

"I don't believe it," She grumbled, throwing down her quill in disgust.

"Is there a problem, Miss Granger?" Umbridge questioned as Theo also looked up

"Yes, there's a problem," Hermione snapped. "Do you honestly expect us to sit here and disfigure our hands?"

"It's hardly disfiguring," Umbridge retorted. "And since I'm the Professor, you'll do as I say."

"Like hell," Hermione snarled as she got to her feet. "I won't sit here and let you abuse me."

"Sit back down Miss Granger," Umbridge snapped as Theo examined his hand and spotted exactly what Hermione had discovered.

"No," Hermione replied with a shake of her head.

"Sit back down, or you will be in big trouble," Umbridge warned.

"Bring it on," Hermione said with a shrug. "I'd love to see you explain why you mutilate your students. Other people might have been too scared to stand up to you, but I'm not."

Turning on her heel, Hermione stalked over to the door and yanked it open. Umbridge was so shocked by the brunette's actions that she didn't find her voice until Hermione was walking out of her office.

"Miss Granger, come back here now," Umbridge shouted.

"Why don't you make me," Hermione shouted back as she disappeared off down the corridor.

"Insolent little witch," Umbridge snarled, before turning back to Theo. "Get back on with it, Mr Nott. I'll deal with Miss Granger, and she's going to regret walking out on me."

Theo was rather taken aback by the anger blazing from Umbridge's eyes, so he hurriedly got back on with his detention. However, a few minutes later the pain in his hand became unbearable and blood seemed to be seeping from the wound as every time he wrote the words on the parchment, they etched themselves deeper into his skin.

"This is enough," He declared as a drop of blood hit Umbridge's table. "Granger was right, this is barbaric."

"I hope you're not thinking of joining Miss Granger in abandoning detention," Umbridge warned him. "Your father made it clear he wanted me to crack down on discipline. You wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you?"

"I'd disappoint him by staying here and taking this abuse," Theo retorted as he swept out of the office, cradling his stinging hand.

Theo half expected Umbridge would come after him, but there was no sign of her following him as he darted out of the corridor and made it down to the dungeons as quickly as possible. As he headed down the stairs into the dungeons, he ran into Draco, who was coming up them.

"Quick detention," Draco remarked. "What happened? She let you off for good behaviour?"

"I walked," Theo replied, flexing his left hand. "As did Granger."

"What?" Draco frowned in confusion, and his confusion deepened as he spotted Theo cradling his hand. "What's wrong with your hand, Theo?"

"Bloody Umbridge is a demented bitch," Theo snarled. "She had us writing lines, and the lines appeared etched into our hands."

"And she did this to both you and Granger?" Draco checked, wondering how his girlfriend was.

"Yes, until Granger walked," Theo replied. "I should have gone with her, but I was shocked by the way she stuck it to Umbridge. Anyway, I stayed a bit longer, but it got too much."

"Too right it did," Draco growled. "We need to go to Snape with this, she can't get away with this."

"Granger probably went to McGonagall or Dumbledore," Theo said with a shrug.

"All the more reason to get in on the act," Draco replied. "You don't want her getting all the sympathy, do you?"

"Hell no," Theo replied with a snarl. "Let's go to Snape."

Draco hid his smirk as he turned and led the way to his godfather's office. Of course he was outraged for Theo, but his main concern was Hermione. He wasn't sure if she would have gone to anyone, and he was determined to make sure that Umbridge paid for what she'd just done. No-one abused his girlfriend and got away with it.

When the pair reached Severus's office, Draco banged on the door and when it was open, he led Theo into the office. Draco quickly explained what had happened, and showed Severus Theo's hand. Theo also told the tale in his own words as his head of house was examining his hand.

"That's appalling," Severus muttered, his mind going directly to his sister.

"We can't let her get away with it," Draco insisted. "You have to do something."

"I intend to," Severus said in a deadly voice. "Draco, go into the supply cupboard in the Potions classroom and fetch some dittany. Mix it with water, and help Theo clean his hand up. I'll be back as soon as I can, and Theo, we'll be getting in touch with your father."

"Where are you going? To confront Umbridge?" Theo asked.

"I just have something I need to take care of," Severus replied, sweeping out of his office and leaving his godson to tend to Theo.

The second he was out of his office, Severus pulled his wand from his robes and cast a spell that would lead him to Hermione. The spell produced a small glowing light, and Severus followed it out of the dungeons and up the main staircase. When the glowing light entered the Transfiguration corridor, Severus wondered if his sister had indeed gone to speak to McGonagall. He immediately got his answer as his sister rounded the corner in front of him and entered the corridor from the other end. The second Hermione was in his sight the glowing ball vanished, having done its job and led him to his sister.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Severus asked, rushing up to his sister.

"Careful, someone might see," Hermione hissed.

Severus rolled his eyes as he grabbed hold of his sister's arm and dragged her into the empty Transfiguration classroom. Quickly sweeping the classroom, he found no signs of life, so he shut the door behind them before rounding on his sister and gently pulling her left hand into his.

"That bitch," He hissed menacingly. "Does it hurt?"

"She carved into my skin, of course it hurts," Hermione replied.

"Have you told anyone yet?" Severus checked as he pulled a cloth from his pocket and gently cleaned the small scraps of blood from his sister's hand. Since she left before Theo, her injuries weren't as bad, but they were bad enough for his liking.

"No," Hermione replied. "I was still deciding what my next move should be."

"You should have come to me," Severus snarled.

"What? And blown our cover?" Hermione asked with a small smile.

"You're more important to me than our cover," Severus replied, stroking his hand through her brunette curls. "You should have come to me immediately."

"I don't need you to fight my battles, Severus," Hermione said. "I'm a big girl."

"I'm aware of that," Severus replied with a rueful smile. "But I can't help wanting to protect you."

"Protect me by keeping our cover intact," Hermione responded. "Anyway, how did you know about my hand?"

"I've got Theo and Draco down in my office," Severus explained. "Theo is going to make an official complaint against Umbridge. You should join us and do the same."

Hermione shook her head lightly as she took hold of her brother's hand. "And have people asking why I went to you? That's not a good idea, Severus. You deal with Theo, and I'm more than willing to have my say when asked about the treatment we received at that witch's hands. This way, she still gets what's coming to her, and our little secret remains a secret."

"How are you so wise for someone so young?" Severus smiled affectionately at his sister as he dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

"Good genes," Hermione replied, smiling up at her brother. "Now go and deal with Theo. When you need me, I'll be up in Gryffindor Tower."

"Okay." Severus nodded as he slowly let go of his sister. "But Hermione, if anything like this ever happens again, you're to come straight to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Severus," Hermione replied. "Now go."

Severus gave his sister one more smile, before the pair turned and exited the classroom. As they went their separate ways, Hermione to Gryffindor Tower and Severus down to the dungeons to see to Theo, they were unaware that in the classroom they'd just left, two people had witnessed their entire interaction.

While Severus had checked the classroom itself, he'd failed to check the adjoining stock cupboard, and in that cupboard Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had been doing a stock take. The two Professors had heard everything, and from the angle of the doorway, they'd seen everything as well. They'd seen one of their colleagues acting inappropriately with a student, an under-age one at that, and now they had to act. Even if they did find the whole thing hard to believe, they had a duty of care towards Hermione and they had to report what they'd just seen. A relationship between a Professor and a student was against all the rules of teaching, and they were left with no choice but to go to Dumbledore and inform him that something untoward was going on between Severus and Hermione.


	18. Chapter 18

For several minutes, Professors Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick, stood in silence, looking at each other in shock. They could hardly believe what they'd just witnessed, but they couldn't deny something they'd both seen and heard.

"What now?" Flitwick finally asked, breaking the silence.

"We go to Albus," McGonagall replied quietly. "We have no other choice."

"No, we don't," Flitwick agreed. "I'm just struggling to believe my own eyes and ears. I never thought Severus would abuse his position like that, and Hermione is such a good girl."

"Even good girls can be corrupted by older men," McGonagall replied wisely. "We need to go and see Albus before this goes any further."

"What do you think will happen?" Flitwick asked. Even though he'd been teaching for many years, he'd yet to witness anything like what he'd just seen with Severus and Hermione.

"Severus will lose his job," McGonagall replied. "Not only is Hermione a student, but she's underage. There's a good chance he could even end up in jail."

"You've seen something like this before?" Flitwick asked the deputy headmistress as they departed her classroom and headed for the headmaster's office.

McGonagall shook her head. "Never. This is a first for me. I never thought I'd see the day when a Professor began a relationship with a student. It's just terrible, and it's the last thing Albus needs in his last year. This could ruin things for his comeback when You-Know-Who is defeated."

Flitwick nodded in agreement, but he didn't get a chance to reply as they reached the headmaster's office, and using the password for the gargoyle the pair took the trip up the spiral staircase. When the pair reached Dumbledore's office, he greeted them warmly and offered them tea as they sat down in front of his desk.

"I think we might need something stronger than tea," McGonagall said with a sigh. "We've got something to tell you Albus, and it's not good. It's not good at all."

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

While McGonagall and Flitwick were telling tales on Severus up in the headmaster's office, the Potions Professor had returned to his office. Draco had helped Theo clean his hand up, and though the blood was gone, the ingrained writing on his hand was still visible.

"Demented woman," Severus muttered as he checked Theo's hand. "I can't believe she would do this."

"So what happens now?" Draco asked. He was guessing Severus had gone to speak to Hermione, and since his godfather seemed clam enough he was hoping that meant his girlfriend was okay.

"Now we call Theo's father," Severus replied. "Unless you don't want to," He added, turning to Theo.

"No, I want to," Theo replied with a firm nod. "Get my father here, and we'll see what he has to say about this abuse."

"Hopefully he'll sack the bitch," Draco snarled as Severus connected the floo network on his office fire, and set about contacting Theo's father.

After a brief conversation with Bernard Nott, Severus moved back away from the fire and almost instantly it lit up and the Minister come storming into the office.

"Theodore." Bernard made his way directly over to his son. "Are you okay?"

"It's just my hand, Father," Theo said stiffly, raising it up for his father to see.

"Blasted woman," Bernard hissed as he examined Theo's hand. "Is this the first time this has happened?" He asked Severus.

"It's the first I've heard of it," Severus replied. "I'd like to think that my other students were as smart as Theo, and would have told me if anything like this had happened to them. Draco, Theo, do either of you know of anyone else who's had detention with Umbridge?"

"None of our friends have had detention with her," Draco replied. "I've also never heard anyone mention anything like this. If she's done it before, her victims are keeping quiet."

"Not for much longer they're not," Bernard snapped. "We're taking this to Dumbledore, and we're getting rid of that wretched woman."

"Just so you know, Theo wasn't alone in detention," Severus told the Minister. "There was a Gryffindor in detention with him, and she suffered the same fate."

"Has she told anyone about it?" Bernard asked.

"I'm not sure, but it'll be easy enough to send for her," Severus replied. "Do you want me to get on it?"

"We'll wait until we get to Dumbledore's office," Bernard said. Turning to Theo he snapped his fingers and his son jumped to his feet. "Come on Theodore, let's go and see the Headmaster."

"Draco, you can go back to the common room," Severus said, hiding his smile as Draco rolled his eyes at Theo.

"Thank you for helping with my hand, Draco," Theo said, shooting his friend a quick smile.

"Yes, thank you, Draco, you're a fine young man and a good friend to my son," Bernard added, clapping the blond boy on the shoulder.

Draco gave Bernard a polite smile, before he headed off to the common room, wishing he could be around to see Umbridge get what was coming to her. As Draco went deeper into the dungeons to return to the common room, Severus led Bernard and Theo up into the main body of the school and up to the headmaster's office. Surprisingly the trio didn't pass any other members of staff as they made their way to the gargoyle that guarded the staircase to Dumbledore's office. However, when they knocked on the door they were surprised to find McGonagall and Flitwick already settled in the headmaster's office.

"Ah Severus, just the man I wanted to talk to," Dumbledore greeted when he opened the door.

"And you're just the man, I want to talk to," Bernard said, pushing past Severus and entering Dumbledore's office with Theo trailing behind him.

"Bernard, I was also going to call you," Albus said. "We've got a bit of a situation here."

"Damn right we have," Bernard spat. "Have you seen my son's hand?"

Before Dumbledore could respond, Bernard had taken hold of Theo's hand and shoved it under the headmaster's nose. Dumbledore glanced down at Theo's hand, before a frown creased his forehead as he realised what he was looking at. Theo's hand was etched with words, and the cuts looked fairly substantial.

"What exactly is this?" Dumbledore asked, momentarily forgetting the other matter at hand.

"Dolores Umbridge," Bernard seethed. "She did this to my son while he was in detention. I also believe he did this to another student, a girl in Theodore's year."

"Hermione Granger," Severus supplied.

"How appropriate," Dumbledore muttered, before he raised his voice and addressed his deputy headmistress. "Minerva, will you go and get Miss Granger."

"Of course," McGonagall replied as she got to her feet, and giving Severus a disgusted look she swept out of the room.

Severus frowned at the look his colleague had just given him, and his confusion deepened when Flitwick gave him the same look as he got up to go and fetch Umbridge. However, he didn't have time to dwell on what was wrong with his fellow Professors, as Dumbledore started to question Theo about his injuries. By the time Theo had told his side of events, McGonagall arrived with Hermione.

"Miss Granger, I assume you have the same markings as Mr Nott?" Dumbledore questioned, once he'd briefly explained to Hermione what was going on.

"Yes, I have carvings on my hand," Hermione confirmed. "Although, they're not too bad because I left once I worked out what was happening."

"You walked out on detention?" Dumbledore asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I wasn't going to sit there and let someone abuse me," Hermione replied with a shrug of her shoulder. "No-one in their right mind would just sit and take what she was doing to us."

"Did you tell anyone about your injury?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes briefly sliding over to Severus, who seemed like his normal self and was paying no extra attention to Hermione.

"I hadn't decided what to do yet," Hermione confessed. "But I probably would have spoken to Professor McGonagall."

Dumbledore nodded, just as the door to his office swung open and a defiant looking Umbridge walked into the office, followed by Flitwick, who shut the door behind them. Umbridge took one look at the assembled group, before focusing her attention on Bernard, favouring him with one of her sugary sweet smiles.

"Minister Nott, how nice to see you," She simpered.

"Cut the pleasantries, Dolores," Bernard snapped. "I want to know what you thought gave you the right to torture my son?"

"Torture is very extreme," Umbridge replied, trying to keep a smile on her face. "I'm merely being a strong disciplinarian, just like we talked about."

"This is not strong discipline, this is child abuse," Bernard yelled, gesturing to Theo's hand. "You have carved into my son's skin, making it bleed. You've also done the same to this young lady here, and who knows how many other students since September."

"I stand by my choice of punishment," Umbridge replied stubbornly. "The marks will fade in a few days' time, and there will be no permanent damage."

"That is not the point," Bernard hissed. "You have no right to physically hurt the children in your care. I'm sorry Dolores, but I have no choice but to immediately alleviate you from your duties as a Professor here at Hogwarts. I want you packed up and out of the castle by morning. I then expect you to report to my office at ten tomorrow morning, and we can discuss your future."

"What exactly do you mean by discuss my future?" Umbridge whispered, her bravado disappearing and her complexion whitening as she was sacked from a job she hadn't even wanted in the first place.

"Firstly, I need to decide if I'm pressing charges against you for harming my son," Bernard replied. "Then there's the parents of the other students you've abused. There's a very good chance you're going to get a criminal record for your activities here, Dolores. Even if by some miracle you avoid that, there will be no place for you within my administration. Now get out of my sight before I really lose it."

Umbridge opened her mouth to protest, but when Bernard gave her a hard glare, she shut it again. Slowly she turned and faced the other adults in the room, wondering if one of them was going to jump to her aid. However, when it was clear no-one was going to defend her, she turned and hurriedly left the room, tears burning in the back of her eyes and a hysterical sob squeezing its way out of her throat.

"We need to have a meeting to discuss staffing, Albus," Bernard said with a sigh. "Could you organise cover for next week, and we can meet on Monday to talk through our options?"

"I can arrange that," Dumbledore said with a nod. "But before you leave, we have another matter to discuss."

"Is it urgent?" Bernard asked. "My wife is expecting me home, and she'll be worried about Theodore."

"I'm afraid it can't wait," Dumbledore said.

"Very well." Bernard nodded his head, before he turned to his son. "You can go back to your common room now, Theodore. But if you have any problems with your hand, either go to the hospital wing or tell Professor Snape."

"I will," Theo vowed as he got to his feet.

"Is it okay if I also go?" Hermione checked with McGonagall as she rose to her feet also.

"Miss Granger, please stay," Dumbledore said. "You too, Severus."

Hermione shot a confused look at her brother as Theo left the headmaster's office and the door was firmly shut behind him. Severus was just as confused as Hermione, and he was suddenly wondering about the looks McGonagall and Flitwick had given him earlier. Something was very wrong, and both Severus and Hermione were worried in case their secrets were about to be exposed.

"What's going on, Albus?" Bernard demanded. "I'm a busy man, I can't spend all evening sorting out the mess you've got up here."

"Normally, I would have taken the time to talk to everyone individually, but since we're all here, I'm just going to use this opportunity to address the problem as a whole," Dumbledore began. "Earlier this evening, Minerva and Filius came to me with some rather disturbing news. It appears there is an inappropriate personal relationship between Severus and young Miss Granger."

"Excuse me?" Severus exploded, not at all happy with the headmaster's implication.

"Are you telling me Severus is sleeping with a student?" Bernard asked in disbelief.

"An underage student," McGonagall added stonily.

"I am doing no such thing," Severus seethed, jumping to his feet. "How dare you spread these evil rumours!"

"No-one is spreading rumours, Severus," Dumbledore said soothingly. "We're just trying to get to the bottom of things."

"Maybe we should begin by finding out how these accusations came about," Bernard suggested as Severus reluctantly re-took his seat beside him.

McGonagall and Flitwick filled the Minister in one what they'd witnessed between Severus and Hermione earlier that evening. As the two Professors were talking, Severus and Hermione realised that they would have to do some fast talking to get out of a messy situation. Unless they told the truth, or a part of the truth, Severus would end up losing his job, and quite likely end up in jail. Even if they did keep quiet and wait until the truth emerged, questions would still be raised about why they didn't come clean at this moment. If Severus lost his job now, he would never get to become headmaster, and all of their father's plans would have to be changed.

"Is this true?" Bernard turned to Severus the second McGonagall and Flitwick stopped talking.

"Yes," Severus replied with a nod as he made a decision about how he was going to deal with the situation. "Everything Minerva and Filius said is true. That conversation took place less than an hour ago."

"And the inappropriate touching?" McGonagall asked. "You had hold of her hand. Not to mention the kiss you gave her."

"This really isn't what it looks like," Hermione piped up.

"You can tell us anything, Hermione," McGonagall said softly as she crouched down in front of the teenager. "Professor Snape is an adult, and he had no right to treat you the way he has. No-one is blaming you for any of this. We just need you to tell us the truth about your relationship with him."

Hermione looked over McGonagall's shoulder and caught her brother's eye, and Severus gave her a nod she assumed was telling her to tell the truth. "I'll tell you the truth," She said, refocusing back on McGonagall. "Severus is not my lover. He's my brother."

Four simultaneous gasps of shock echoed around the office, and Hermione watched as the revelations sunk in. Even all the portraits on the wall of former headmasters, were eagerly listening to the conversation as all eyes slowly turned to Severus.

"Is this true?" Dumbledore asked.

"It is," Severus replied with a nod as he sorted out the story he was going to tell in his head.

"Why the secrecy?" McGonagall asked, looking between the pair to try and find some resemblance and failing miserably. Severus and Hermione looked nothing alike, although that proved nothing as not all siblings shared similar looks.

"I didn't think things would be easy for Hermione if she was known as my little sister," Severus replied. "I didn't want her life at Hogwarts to be harder than it needed to be, so we decided not to broadcast our relationship to everyone."

"How did this happen?" Dumbledore asked with a frown. "Miss Granger is a muggleborn, how can she be your sister?"

"It's a long story, but the short version is that Tobias Snape isn't my biological father," Severus replied. "My mother told me when I was a teenager, and once I left school I went looking for my real father. It wasn't easy tracking him down, but finally I found out he'd married a muggle woman and was living in the muggle world. However, by the time I reached the place where I thought he was, he'd gone again. Instead, I found his wife, Hermione's mother, and Hermione, my little sister. After that, I stopped looking for my father, but I kept in touch with Hermione and her mother. As I said, we then decided to keep our private life private when she started school, because I didn't feel it was fair for Hermione to have to suffer the prejudices that would undoubtedly come her way as my sister."

"And no-one ever knew this?" McGonagall asked in surprise.

"Why would they?" Severus replied with a shrug. "It's no-one's business but our own. And if you don't mind, I would rather this news didn't spread through the school. Our private life hasn't got anything to do with anyone else."

"Of course not," Dumbledore agreed with a nod of his head. "We'll keep it under wraps. And Severus, we're very sorry for doubting you."

"Don't be," Severus said magnanimously. "Without knowing the true context of our relationship, that conversation we had earlier seemed very suspicious. I don't blame anyone for expressing their concerns. Now, I just hope everyone can keep this between us."

"Of course," McGonagall said with a nod.

Bernard and Flitwick also agreed not to gossip. However, as everyone was vowing to keep Severus and Hermione's connection a secret, no-one had thought to silence the portraits. Even as Dumbledore was vowing the news would go no further, several of the portraits had left their frames in the headmaster's office and gone flitting off to some of their other frames around the castle. Before the evening was out the whole school would know that Severus Snape was the older brother of the Gryffindor fifth year, Hermione Granger.


	19. Chapter 19

Sitting in Gryffindor Tower, Harry's concern over his aunt continued to grow as time ticked by and there was no sign of her returning to the common room. Hermione had been back to Gryffindor Tower following her detention with Umbridge, but that was well over an hour ago. When she'd been back in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione had shown Harry and Ron her hand and told him she was waiting to see what Umbridge was going to do before informing a Professor of the situation. She'd also managed to quietly tell Harry that Severus knew about her injury and had promised her that something would be done about the new Defence Professor.

When McGonagall had then arrived in Gryffindor Tower and taken Hermione to see the Headmaster, Harry had assumed it was something to do with Umbridge and her brutal detention methods. However, the longer Hermione was away the more worried Harry was becoming. He had a bad feeling for some reason and he sensed his aunt was in trouble.

Deciding to go and get the map and see if he could locate Hermione, Harry got to his feet. However, before he could even make it to the stairs that led up to the boys' dormitory, the door to the common room burst open and an excited Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil rushed into the room.

"You'll never guess what we've just heard," Lavender crowed. "It's the juiciest gossip ever."

"Who's interested in gossip?" Ron sneered.

"It involves Hermione," Parvati teased.

Harry had just reached the bottom of the stairs when he heard his aunt's name, so he turned back to the two gossiping witches. "What about Hermione?"

"She's been lying to us for years," Lavender announced, well aware that almost everyone in the common room was listening to her.

"Lying?" Harry paled as he wondered just what had happened in the Headmaster's office. "What do you mean?"

"We mean, little miss innocent has been keeping secrets from us," Parvati answered. "Firstly, she's not even a muggleborn."

"Don't be stupid, of course Hermione is a muggleborn," Ron snorted.

"She's not," Lavender replied. "She's not a muggleborn. Her father is a wizard."

"Where are you getting this rubbish from?" Ginny asked, from where she was sitting beside the fire with the twins and some of their friends.

"Yeah, Hermione is a muggleborn," Fred agreed. "She lives in the muggle world."

"She might live in the muggle world, but she's not a muggleborn," Lavender insisted.

"So who is her father?" Harry asked, eyeing up the common room door and wondering if he could escape from Gryffindor Tower if things got hairy.

"Who knows?" Parvati shrugged unconcerned. "The question you should be asking, is who her brother is."

"Brother?" Ron frowned. "You're trying to say Hermione has a brother?"

"Not just any brother, but a big brother," Lavender announced gleefully. "A big brother who just so happens to be our Potions Professor."

"Snape," Ron spat as cries of surprise flew around the common room.

Harry was still standing over beside the stairs, and he was momentarily stunned by the revelation. What the hell had happened for the relationship between his father and aunt to be exposed? For over four years no-one had known about their connection, so what had changed in the last hour?

"That is just ridiculous," George laughed.

"Yeah, I think someone is pulling your legs," The twins' best friend, Lee Jordan, added.

"No way is Hermione related to Snape," Fred said.

"Go and ask The Fat Lady," Lavender said with a pout. "She's busy gossiping about it with her friend, Violet. All the portraits are spreading the news."

"We'll go and see," Ron said, jumping to his feet. "But you're wrong. No way is Hermione related to that greasy haired git down in the dungeons."

Snapping back to life, Harry rushed over and joined Ron as he and a group of other students made their way to the common room entrance. When they pulled the door open, The Fat Lady was indeed gossiping with her friend, Violet, whose portrait hung in another part of the castle. Initially the two ladies carried on gossiping, but eventually the group of Gryffindors managed to get their attention.

"They don't believe us about Hermione," Parvati explained to the two gossiping witches in the frame that guarded Gryffindor Tower. "Will you please tell everyone, what you told us?"

"Of course me dear, we'd be delighted," The Fat Lady said with a smile.

She then launched into a story about how several of the portraits of former Headmasters had emerged from the Headmaster's office and started spreading the news of what had gone on up in Dumbledore's office. Not only had Dolores Umbridge been sacked on the spot, and threatened with legal action over her abuse of minors, but Professor Dumbledore had confronted Hermione and Severus over an alleged affair. That was when the pair were forced to admit that they were siblings.

"Wow," Ginny whispered. "That is crazy."

"Crazy? It's bloody diabolical," Ron yelled. "Hermione has been lying to us for years. How could she do that?"

"Now's your chance to ask her," Dean said, glancing out of the open doorway and spotting Hermione slowly walking their way. "Here she comes now."

Harry barely got a chance to spot Hermione out in the corridor, before Ron was barrelling out of the common room and confronting her. Pushing his way through the gathering crowds, Harry reached Ron's side as he finished yelling at Hermione, telling her what a lying two-faced cow she was. Hermione was clearly shocked by the entire thing as she was standing gaping at Ron, her mouth open in complete and utter shock.

"Let's not do this out here," Harry suggested as he gently took hold of Hermione's arm and steered her into the common room.

"I don't see where it matters where we do this," Ron grumbled as everyone trooped back into Gryffindor Tower and the door was shut behind them. "She's still a deceitful little bitch."

"Ron, stop it," George snapped. "Hermione is our friend, and I'm sure there's an innocent explanation for all of this."

"As if," Ron snorted as he threw himself in a nearby chair. "There's no such thing as innocent when Snape is involved. If she's truly related to him, then she can't be trusted. It's as simple as that."

"Why did you never tell us?" Fred asked Hermione softly as the brunette witch stood at Harry's side still clearly in shock.

"How did you know?" Hermione finally whispered, totally confused as to how everyone knew about her and Severus after Dumbledore had promised to keep it quiet.

"The portraits," Lavender supplied. "They're all gossiping about it."

"Damn it," Hermione muttered. When Dumbledore and the others promised to keep quiet, she'd never thought about the portraits, although she really should have considering she'd been aware they were listening to the gossip with relish.

"Never mind how we know," Ron snapped. "Answer Fred's question. Why did you never tell us you're related to that git of a Potions Professor?"

Ron's insult of Severus finally jolted Hermione back to her normal self and she glared at Ron. "That is why we kept it quiet," She hissed, pointing at Ron. "People like Ron, who jump in and judge people before they know them. We kept it quiet because Severus didn't think it was fair for me to have to put up with pathetic morons like Ron."

"Don't you dare insult me, you're the one who's lied to us for four and a half years," Ron yelled, jumping back to his feet and moving so he was standing in front of Hermione. "And from where I'm standing, you kept quiet because you were ashamed to be related to that git. I know I would be."

"I'd be more ashamed to be related to someone as bigoted as you," Hermione shot back. "I am not ashamed of Severus, and I never have been. To be honest, it's a relief that the truth is out. Now I don't have to hide the fact my brother is in school."

"Do what you like, we don't care," Ron spat. "We're finished with you, Hermione. You lied to us, so we're done."

"And who exactly is we?" Fred asked his brother. "Because you better not be talking for George and myself. We have no problems with Hermione, or who she's related to. In fact, given the horrid way you're treating her, we can understand why she kept it quiet."

"Thank you boys," Hermione said softly as George backed up his brother. Dean, Neville and Seamus also reiterated the same thoughts, they weren't going to stop being Hermione's friend because she happened to be the sister of Severus Snape.

"Harry, Ginny?" Ron turned his focus to his little sister and best friend as everyone else chose Hermione over him.

"I'm not abandoning Hermione," Harry said, putting his arm around his aunt's shoulders. He was dying to know the whole story, but he knew he had to have some patience. "Sorry Ron, but you were bang out of order. You should apologise."

"No way," Ron said with a shake of his head. "Gin, you're with me, right?"

"Afraid not, bro," Ginny said, moving to stand next to Harry. "I'm with the others on this. Hermione's personal life is none of our business, and it's stupid to disown her because of who her brother is."

"And what about the fact she's constantly lied to us?" Ron demanded. "She told us her parents were muggles. Her mother even pretends to be a muggle when she picks her up from the station."

"My mother is a muggle," Hermione lied. She knew she would get some backlash when the full truth emerged, but that wouldn't be until the end of the year, and until then she was going to go along with the story Severus had concocted as their cover. "And as for my father, I've never once mentioned him. No-one has ever asked me about him, so I've never lied about him. Think about it, Ron. Have I ever mentioned my father, or have you ever seen him?"

"That proves nothing," Ron snorted. "You're still a liar."

"Have it your way," Hermione replied with a shrug. "I don't regret keeping my private life private, and if it wasn't for nosey Professors it would still be private."

Ron made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat, and without a second glance at Hermione or anyone else, he turned and headed up to the boys' dorms. Harry and Hermione let him go without a fuss as they settled down in some nearby chairs. Hopefully Ron would stay angry with Hermione for the rest of the year, and they then wouldn't have to deal with him much before the full truth emerged.

After Ron's departure it took well over an hour before Harry and Hermione were left alone. Almost everyone wanted to know about Hermione's relationship with Severus. However, Hermione wouldn't say much so people soon got bored when they realised they weren't going to get any gossip about their Potions Master from his little sister.

"So what happened?" Harry whispered when they were alone enough to cast a spell that prevented anyone from overhearing them.

"McGonagall and Flitwick happened," Hermione replied. "They were in the supply cupboard when Severus and I were in McGonagall's classroom earlier. From what they heard, they thought Severus and I were having an affair."

"Eew," Harry cried, his face contorting into a look of pure horror. "That's disgusting, even if you weren't siblings. I mean, you're only sixteen and he's old enough to be your father."

"It's what McGonagall and Flitwick thought," Hermione said with a shrug. "Anyway, they went to Dumbledore and after Umbridge was dealt with, he asked us to stay and he mentioned the suspicions. Severus had no choice but to reveal our connection."

"What will this mean for Grandpa's plans?" Harry asked with a frown. There was no way Hermione could leave with Voldemort when he first arrived, without his father also leaving with them.

"I'm not sure," Hermione admitted. "Severus was going to go and speak to him this evening. We managed to talk briefly after leaving Dumbledore's office, and he doesn't think this will affect things too badly. It might just mean we all have to wait for the second coming to reveal our true selves."

"Shame, I was looking forward to seeing how rattled Dumbledore would get when he realised you'd been playing him," Harry mused. "Although, it could work even better if you and Dad both go. Just think of how much bragging the likes of Ron will do. He'll be so thrilled that he was right and that you're not to be trusted."

"But that would leave you alone with Dumbledore and the Order," Hermione pointed out. "I'm not sure Severus and Father would like that."

"I wouldn't be in any danger," Harry argued. "After you and Dad leave, no-one will suspect me of betraying them as well. I can spend a few days playing the injured party, moaning about how my best friend betrayed me."

"You'd love that, won't you?" Hermione chuckled.

"I would actually," Harry agreed with a grin. "I'm dying to really prove myself, and this could be my time to really shine. I'll talk to Grandpa and Dad over the Easter holidays and persuade them we don't need to change plans. Dad just leaves with you after the first visit."

"Before we can even think about that, we need to find the vanishing cabinet," Hermione pointed out. "We really need to get going with that. How do you fancy spending the weekend scouring that secret room?"

"You're on," Harry said. "Hopefully Draco can join us and the three of us can make some progress."

With plans made for the weekend, Hermione headed off to bed for an early night. She'd dealt with people from Gryffindor Tower, but in the morning she'd have the rest of the school gossips to deal with. No doubt most people would have something to say about her and Severus being siblings. Although it would be fun to see how her brother handled things as he hated to be gossiped about. More than likely over the next few weeks the dungeon would be packed with students in detention with her brother. Hopefully it would teach people not to gossip about him, otherwise they could be facing much worse if they were to carry on gossiping when the full truth emerged later in the year.


	20. Chapter 20

Draco was just as stunned as his fellow Slytherins when he heard the rumours regarding Hermione and Severus. Of course he wasn't surprised to hear the pair were siblings, but he was surprised to find it had somehow become common knowledge. Something had clearly happened after Theo had left the Headmaster's office, but until Draco could speak to either Hermione or Severus he was just as clueless as everyone else in the school.

Like everyone else, Draco's focus had been on Theo and what had happened with Umbridge when his friend returned to the common room. Theo had happily filled his friends in on the fact Umbridge had been sacked, and he was busy bragging about how impressive his father had been when a couple of seventh years entered the common room with the gossip about Hermione and Severus.

"Surely this can't be true," Pansy said with a frown when the news broke, briefly turning her attention away from Theo and looking over to where Draco was sitting. "This isn't true, is it, Draco?"

"How would Draco know?" Blaise questioned, before Draco had a chance to speak.

"Snape is his godfather," Daphne pointed out. While not all of the school knew about Draco's connection with the head of Slytherin, all his friends knew about it.

"So, is it true?" Pansy pressed.

"First I've heard about it," Draco smoothly lied.

"So what do we think?" Blaise queried. "Are the rumours true, or is someone just having a laugh?"

"Dumbledore did ask Granger to stay behind in his office when I was leaving," Theo said. "I assumed it was something to do with Umbridge, and maybe contacting her parents about her hand, but it might have had something to do with Snape. I don't see where the rumours would come from if they're not true."

"Let's hope they're not," Pansy muttered.

"Why?" Blaise asked with a frown. "Does it really matter if Granger is Snape's little sister?"

"It does if you've spent the last four and a half years being nothing but rotten to her," Pansy said with a grimace. "Just think about if it's true, and they don't have to hide anymore. Snape will come down like a ton of bricks on anyone who dares to pick on Granger."

"So just leave her alone," Draco suggested with a shrug. "We all know Weasley's the one to have fun with. Granger can hold her own and hit back with her own comments, or she just ignores the insults. It's much more fun to toy with Weasley and get him wound up."

"True, but sometimes it's hard to resist toying with Granger," Theo remarked. "She's just so perfect, it makes you want to scream at times."

"If you want to risk Snape's wrath, go ahead and toy with her," Draco said. "But my advice would be to watch your step from now on. If the rumours are true, she's not someone to be messed with."

"Do you think she's secretly dark?" Pansy asked eagerly, and Draco winced at his choice of phrasing.

"I didn't mean that," He hurriedly corrected. "I just meant if she's related to Snape, she'll have a temper. Besides, with the truth out, she could go to her brother at any time if she's upset. I wouldn't want to be the one Snape comes after for upsetting his little sister."

"Draco's right," Blaise said with a thoughtful nod. "I say we leave Granger alone if the rumours are true. I'm not getting on Snape's bad side just to wind her up."

"Besides, she's really not that bad," Daphne added. Since they were partnered up in Arithmancy, Daphne had gotten to know Hermione, and now she knew that she wasn't truly a muggleborn, she was more inclined to try and get to know her better and nurture the friendship that she'd made sure to avoid before now.

With everyone deciding it was best to avoid angering Hermione in the future, the Slytherins spent the rest of the evening gossiping about the news. Not only did they have Hermione and Severus to talk about, but they were still revelling in the joy of Umbridge getting sacked. They just hoped whoever replaced her had more interesting lessons lined up.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

The next morning all the students could talk about was Hermione and Severus being siblings. Draco could see Severus was unhappy that the news had leaked out, but the damage was done and there was nothing he could do about it. Hermione also looked put out by the news being public knowledge, but then again, she might just have been annoyed because everyone was bugging her with questions. Obviously no-one was going up to Severus and asking him questions, whereas it appeared the students had no problems firing questions at Hermione.

Surprisingly Dumbledore addressed the rumours when he got to his feet to make a brief morning speech. While he didn't confirm the rumours, he did ask people to respect Hermione and Severus's privacy. He then moved onto Umbridge and announced she'd been relieved of her teaching assignment. Dumbledore announced that he would be teaching the lesson the following week, but that a new Defence Professor would be employed as soon as possible.

"I guess this means the rumours are true," Blaise mused as the Slytherins watched Hermione ignore the gossips as Harry sat loyally at her side, fending off people who were still trying to ask her questions.

Draco was pleased to see Ron wasn't talking to Hermione, and he hoped the redhead kept his distance for the rest of the year. It would be nice for Hermione to have a break from the annoying redhead before the truth emerged and she would no longer have to hide. In fact, Draco was hoping it would mean both Harry and Hermione would find sneaking away easier and they could spend more time together as they tried to search for the vanishing cabinet.

Draco got his wish sooner than he thought when Harry slipped him a note as they left the Great Hall, asking if he could get away after lunch. Of course Draco had no problem making an excuse to spend the afternoon away from his Slytherin friends. Following the instructions on the note from Harry, he met his best friend and girlfriend outside of the mystery junk room.

"Hey," Draco greeted the pair, giving Hermione a quick kiss. "What the hell happened last night?"

"We'll tell you when we get inside," Hermione said as Harry started pacing in front of the wall.

When the door to the room opened, the trio darted inside. Like the previous time they'd been in the room, it was a complete mess. How they were going to find anything in the room was a mystery to all of them, but right now Draco's focus was on getting the gossip. He wanted to know how such a big secret had been exposed just as Voldemort was planning his big move.

"So, do I get an explanation?" Draco asked.

"The quick explanation is that Flitwick and McGonagall are perverts," Harry muttered as he began to prowl around the junk room.

"What?" Draco frowned, and focused his attention on Hermione. "What's he on about?"

Hermione quickly explained the situation to Draco, and how she and Severus had been outed because of the conclusions the two Professors had jumped to. Like Harry, Draco was disgusted by the pair's thoughts and he thought they were crazy to think such a ridiculous thing.

"So how will this affect the big plan?" He asked, turning around to include Harry in his question.

"It won't," Harry replied confidently.

"You hope," Hermione added as Harry quickly told Draco that he was hoping to persuade Voldemort and Severus to go ahead with things the way they'd planned, only Severus would leave with Hermione rather than staying behind with him.

"Do you think The Dark Lord will go for such a plan?" Draco asked. "And what about Severus? I can't see anyone liking leaving you alone with the Order, Harry."

"I'll be fine," Harry said with a dismissive snort. "I'm above suspicion. Dumbledore trusts me so much he's even planning on giving me private lessons. I'm telling you, no-one will suspect a thing."

"Have you heard more about your lessons with Dumbledore?" Draco asked.

"Not yet, but we've only been back a week," Harry answered. "And at the moment, I think he's likely too busy with all the fuss about Umbridge to think about private lessons."

"I mentioned them to Father over the holidays, and he told me to tell you to take notes," Hermione said. "He wants to know just what Dumbledore knows, and if you can, he would like to know who else he's been talking to. Does all the Order know the things he's going to tell you, or is a secret?"

"I'll find out everything we need to know," Harry vowed. "But right now, I think we should get searching for the cabinet. At this rate, Grandpa will have to use his back-up plan to get the Death Eaters into school."

"We've got all afternoon, we can get going and make a good start," Draco said. "We can even come back tomorrow if necessary."

Deciding to split up to try and cover more ground, the trio set about searching for the vanishing cabinet. After half an hour of getting nowhere, the trio regrouped and began to search together. As they searched, Draco asked about how the other Gryffindors were treating Hermione now they knew she was Severus's little sister.

"Actually most of them were really good about it," Hermione said. "Of course, I'm sure you can guess who took it badly."

"The Weasel," Draco sneered. "Honestly, I can't wait until we can get rid of him permanently."

"Maybe he'll be a casualty at the end of the year," Hermione suggested hopefully.

"If not, I'm sure we can get rid of him sooner rather than later," Harry added. "Although, I don't really think he's going to be much trouble for the rest of the year."

"Really?" Hermione shot Harry an incredulous look. "He might be mad now, but we both know he'll not be able to maintain his stance against me without alienating himself from you. He'll pretend to accept who I am, just to spend time with you."

"Hermione's right," Draco said. "He's a limpet. He won't want to risk missing out on the reflected glory that comes from being your friend. Sooner or later, he'll worm his way back into your life."

"Let's hope it's later," Harry muttered. "Much later."

With a chuckle the trio returned their focus to their search. An hour later they'd found a few interesting items, but nothing that resembled a vanishing cabinet.

"Maybe we're in the wrong place," Draco remarked as he picked up a dusty tiara, and rubbed at it, revealing it was genuine silver embedded with what looked like authentic sapphires. "Although this is a nice piece of jewellery. I'm no expert, but I would say it's expensive."

"What's expensive jewellery doing in a school?" Harry asked with a frown as he wandered over to get a look at the tiara in Draco's hands.

Walking over to the pair, Hermione swiftly removed the tiara from their hands. "Does it matter? It's not what we're looking for. We're looking for something bigger than a tiara."

Before the boys could argue more, Hermione flung the tiara onto the top of a large pile of junk. However, she'd thrown it a bit harder than she'd intended and it went sailing across the pile and clattering down to the floor on the other side of the junk. Harry and Draco both gave Hermione an unimpressed look, but before they had time to reproach her for her carelessness there was a rumble and the pile of junk Hermione had just skimmed the tiara over began to wobble.

"Watch out," Draco cried, grabbing Hermione and pulling her out of the way just as a pile of dusty books fell at her feet.

The books were followed by other pieces of junk, sending up dust clouds that began to choke the three teenagers. Coughing and spluttering the trio pulled out their wands and used magic to clear the dust clouds. Once they could see again they found that half the pile had toppled over, revealing another pile of junk stacked behind it, including a large wooden cabinet that matched the one Hermione's father had shown them before the start of the year.

"We found it," Harry whispered in awe.

"No need to thank me," Hermione said with a smug grin.

"We might have thanked you if you'd found it deliberately," Harry shot back at his aunt. "But this was a pure accident. You just threw that tiara over here and were lucky it dislodged the front pile. If anyone has to take credit for finding this, I say the honour goes to Draco."

"What?" Hermione spluttered. "Draco didn't find the cabinet, I did."

"Yes, but I found the tiara that led to the cabinet," Draco said, more than happy to play along with Harry and wind Hermione up a bit. "Without that tiara, we wouldn't have found the cabinet."

"We wouldn't have found the cabinet if I hadn't taken it off you," Hermione retorted. "But that doesn't matter now. What matters now is that we've found it. Now we have to get to it and check its condition. Once we can get to it easily, we'll have to bring Severus to see it."

"It's still going to take some digging out," Harry remarked as he edged closer to the cabinet, but was stopped by the heaps of fallen junk in front of it.

"We better get on with it, hadn't we," Hermione said, flicking her wand and beginning the long task of moving the junk surrounding the cabinet.

Slightly over an hour later the cabinet was free and clear and the trio cleared a path to it from the door. They also pulled a bookshelf from one of the walls and arranged it so that it could be stood in front of the cabinet in case anyone else visited the room when they weren't around. By the time the bookshelf was in place, and it was carefully packed with various bits of junk, including the tiara that had started it all, the cabinet could barely be seen unless you happened to know it was there.

"I'll bring Severus to see it tonight," Hermione said. "Hopefully it won't need too much fixing and we can let Father know things are progressing nicely."

Sharing delighted smiles the trio left the cabinet safely tucked away in the back of the room and exited the room. Since it was almost dinnertime they went their separate ways, but before they did Draco and Hermione arranged to meet up the following day after Draco's quidditch practice. They would either use the secret room in the library or see what else they could conjure with the room they were currently in. Voldemort had mentioned that it provided whoever was seeking entry into the room whatever they desired, so it might be interesting to see what sort of room it would supply for a young couple looking for some privacy.


	21. Chapter 21

Dumbledore couldn't help but feel slightly smug as he welcomed Bernard Nott into his office to discuss the crisis regarding Umbridge. After Bernard had been appointed Minister for Magic, and they'd had their initial meeting to discuss the school's future, he'd been extremely critical of Dumbledore and how he was running things. Now the shoe was on the other foot, and the problems at Hogwarts were a result of the Ministry interfering. Of course it hadn't been Bernard himself who'd appointed Umbridge, but he hadn't objected to her presence, in fact he'd seemed rather pleased to have her at the school when they'd previously spoken.

"I hope things are going well at the Ministry," Dumbledore said with a small smirk as the younger wizard settled himself down in front of his large oak desk.

"They're getting there," Bernard replied. "Unfortunately I've had to spend my weekend dealing with the Umbridge situation, rather than being able to focus on the new laws I'm hoping to pass."

"Ah yes, I heard about some of those laws," Dumbledore said, disapproval dripping from his voice. "They're rather fanciful, don't you think, Bernard?"

"No," Bernard replied stiffly. "I think they're long overdue."

"Discriminating against muggleborns isn't the way to go about things," Dumbledore insisted. "It's just taking the wizarding world back to the dark ages. We have to move with the times. We need to fight this oppression."

"No-one is discriminating against muggleborns," Bernard argued. "We are just trying to re-establish the secrecy surrounding out world. At this moment in time, we're vulnerable. Too many muggles know about us."

"And you plan to stop that by limiting contact between the two worlds?" Dumbledore queried.

"I do," Bernard confirmed with a nod. "It's time to crack down on the muggles who know our secrets. I know it will take a few years to implement all my changes, but in a few years you'll see how well my plans have worked. In five years we won't be worried about muggles knowing about magic."

"In five years muggleborns won't want to be part of our world," Dumbledore retorted. "They won't want to leave their families just to practice magic."

"They won't have to leave their families," Bernard protested. "Their families will just have their knowledge of the wizarding world removed when their child finishes school. From then on the muggleborn can still visit their families, they just can't let them find out about the wizarding world."

"It'll never work," Dumbledore muttered.

"Luckily, I don't need your approval for my laws," Bernard snapped. "We're here to discuss the latest crisis here at Hogwarts."

"A crisis not of my making," Dumbledore pointed out smugly. "The Ministry appointed Dolores, not me."

"I'm well aware who appointed Dolores," Bernard grumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. While he couldn't personally be held responsible for the appointment, he'd let it stand when he'd taken over as Minister.

"So, am I to take it the Ministry will be providing a new Professor?" Dumbledore asked.

"I was hoping you would have some ideas on that front," Bernard said sheepishly.

"I thought you didn't trust my judgement?" Dumbledore questioned with a smirk.

Bernard had the grace to blush slightly as he shifted in his seat. "I'm willing to give you another chance, Albus."

"And what about my future?" Dumbledore asked, deciding to push his advantage. "You know I don't want to retire. If I help you out, how about reconsidering my future at the end of the year?"

"I think we can do that," Bernard replied through clenched teeth. He knew The Dark Lord wanted Dumbledore gone, and he knew he would have to deliver, but for now it seemed easier to give Dumbledore false hope and get him to help them out of the mess Umbridge had left them in.

"In that case, I'm happy to help," Dumbledore said with a smile. He knew his future at Hogwarts still wasn't secure, but he at least had leverage to use now.

"Do you have someone in mind to take the job?" Bernard asked.

"I'm really not sure how easy it will be to fill the Defence position from outside of the school," Dumbledore said. "But I do know a Professor already in school who would love the chance to teach Defence."

"Who?"

"Severus Snape."

"But Severus is the Potions Professor," Bernard said with a frown. "And a good one at that. If we moved him, we would have to find a new Potions Professor."

"And that's where I can help," Dumbledore said with a smug smile. "I happen to be friendly with a former Potions Professor. I'm sure I can convince him to take over for the rest of the term. He might even take the job long term, but only if I remain as Headmaster."

"We can think about that at the end of the year," Bernard said. "Who is this Professor you have in mind to teach Potions?"

"Horace Slughorn," Dumbledore answered. "I believe he taught you, Bernard."

"He did," Bernard confirmed with a nod. "If you can get him to join the staff, let me know. I'm happy for him to teach Potions and for Severus to switch to Defence. I'll leave it all in your hands, Albus. Just let me know what's happening."

"I will," Dumbledore said as Bernard got to his feet.

As the Minister left, Dumbledore allowed himself a moment of smugness before he set about contacting Horace Slughorn. The meeting with Bernard had gone better than he thought, and he now had real hope that this wouldn't be his last year at Hogwarts. He knew Bernard was in Voldemort's pocket, but unless the dark wizard was going to get violent, he wouldn't find it as easy to push him out now. He was going to stand firm at the end of the year, he wasn't ready to retire yet and he was determined not to let it be forced on him.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

During lunch on Monday, Harry was dismayed to get a note from Dumbledore arranging for them to have their first private lesson after dinner that evening. Since Ron still wasn't speaking to Hermione, it meant he wasn't sitting with them when Harry got the note, but that didn't stop him from watching the pair, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Honestly, he's so nosey," Hermione grumbled to Harry as her nephew slid the note into his pocket with a sigh.

"Dumbledore?" Harry frowned.

"No, Ron," Hermione hissed, looking over at the redhead, who immediately turned away at the sight of her. "He's practically breaking his neck to try and see what you're up to."

"Well, I doubt he's going to find out," Harry said with a shrug. "If he can't be polite to you, I don't want to know him."

"I'm sure he'll try and catch you on your own," Hermione remarked.

"He already has," Harry replied with an unimpressed snort. "Every night in the dorms he tries to get us to side with him, but we're all holding strong. We won't abandon you, Hermione."

"Thank you, Harry." Hermione gave Harry a big smile, and when she knew Ron had turned back to watch them she leant over and planted a big kiss on her nephew's cheek. "You really are a great friend."

Harry chuckled slightly at his aunt's display, and playing along he slung his arm over her shoulders and gave her a hug. Out the corner of the eye he spotted Ron getting to his feet and stalking out of the Great Hall. Turning to Hermione, the pair shared a wicked smirk before finishing off their lunch and heading off for afternoon lessons.

Since Hermione stuck with Harry in all the afternoon lessons, Ron didn't have the chance to approach him and find out what was going on with the note from Dumbledore. Even after lessons, Hermione stayed with Harry and the pair went for a walk around the grounds before dinner so they could chat in peace.

"When do you think the vanishing cabinet will be ready?" Harry asked.

As she promised, Hermione had taken Severus to see the cabinet. Severus had checked it over and told Hermione it just needed a few minor repairs. He'd promised her that he would sort out the stuff she needed so that she could repair the cabinet in her spare time. Severus was thinking it would take two or three weekends to get the cabinet up to scratch so it could be used.

"And then once it's fixed, we just need to try it out," Hermione said, telling Harry everything her brother had told her. "As long as it works, we're just waiting for Father's big moment."

"Maybe we should bring it forward," Harry suggested. "At this rate we could be ready to go before Easter."

"And then we'd miss our exams," Hermione argued. "No, unless Father is desperate to act, we wait until the last few weeks of term. Besides, these lessons with Dumbledore might still be going on. We need to know everything he knows, and who he's told it to, before we get rid of him."

"I guess so," Harry admitted with a reluctant sigh. "I'm just eager to drop this bloody act."

"Join the club," Hermione said with a sigh. "I can't wait to be myself. Next year is going to be so great."

"Yeah, I wonder if I'll make quidditch captain," Harry mused.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry, not at all surprised he'd brought the topic round to quidditch. "Boys and their quidditch."

"Quidditch is important," Harry said firmly. "Speaking of which, we've got a few practices this week so Ron might try and persuade us to turn against you again."

"Let him try, I don't care," Hermione said with a shrug as the pair stopped on the banks of the Black Lake. "Besides, when the truth comes out, people are going to wish they'd sided with Ron in the first place. I hate to say this Harry, but once Severus and I have left, he's going to be unbearable."

"I'm sure I can cope for a few days," Harry replied with a chuckle. "And then after that, I don't think he'll want to know me anymore."

"No, I don't suppose he will," Hermione agreed. "But that is something to be grateful for."

Harry nodded his agreement as the pair turned back and slowly began to head up to the castle. "So what are you going to do after dinner, more homework?"

"I think so," Hermione answered with a nod. "Either that, or I'll sneak off for a few hours with my boyfriend."

"Do I want to know what sort of room you got when you tried using the requirement room over the weekend?" Harry asked.

"Probably not," Hermione replied with a small laugh as she remembered the sexy boudoir the room had conjured for her and Draco on their first attempt at using it. Although neither of them had been really comfortable with the room so they'd tried again until they'd gotten a room with a roaring fire and large sofa for them to curl up on. Maybe in the future they would try the sexy bedroom again, but they weren't ready for that stage of their relationship yet.

Harry grimaced slightly at the possibilities that entered his mind, but shaking them off he led the way into the Great Hall. Back around other people the pair settled back into their normal routine of chatting about school and such as they sat down next to Neville, ready to have a meal alongside their fellow Gryffindors.

After dinner, Harry walked Hermione back up to Gryffindor Tower so she could pick up her book bag. He then walked her back down to the library, before saying his goodbyes and heading off to see Dumbledore. Dumbledore's note had given him the password to the gargoyle that guarded the stairs that led to his office, so Harry made it to the door of Dumbledore's office without incident.

"Come in," Dumbledore's voice called when Harry knocked on the door.

When Harry entered the office, he found Dumbledore sitting behind his desk. The second he spotted Harry, his face lit up in a large smile and he jumped to his feet, offering the teenager a cup of tea.

"Thank you," Harry said, accepting the cup Dumbledore offered him.

"Now, we've got a lot to get through," Dumbledore said as he perched himself in the chair next to Harry, rather than return to behind his desk. "Although, I am hoping we can continue these lessons next year."

"But I thought you were retiring at the end of the year?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Just between you and me, that might not be happening," Dumbledore whispered with a happy twinkle in his eyes. "All this fuss with Professor Umbridge has given me back some leverage with the Ministry. Between her actions and the fact I was able to solve our staffing crisis, I think there's a good chance I'll be able to save my job."

"Great," Harry said, flashing Dumbledore a fake smile.

"It is, but we're not here to dwell on my future, we're here to discuss Voldemort's past," Dumbledore announced. "I think before I tell you some of the things I know about Voldemort, we need to go back to the beginning. You need to know all about him, and what sort of person you're going to be up against. Let's start with his parents. You might be surprised to hear Voldemort is a half blood. His mother was a witch, a descendant of Salazar Slytherin to be precise, but his father was a muggle."

Harry feigned interest as Dumbledore told him the story of his grandfather, and his heritage. Of course Harry knew the story, but he was rather surprised by how much Dumbledore knew. The headmaster seemed to know all the small details about his grandfather's early life, and that surprised Harry. It also worried him as he wondered if Dumbledore knew enough to know about Beth. As it turned out, Harry didn't need to be worried as it became clear that Dumbledore's vast knowledge of Voldemort faltered around the time his grandfather had left Hogwarts. Up until that point, Dumbledore knew all sorts, but after Voldemort left Hogwarts his information became much sketchier.

"I just wish I could tell you more about the man Voldemort is these days," Dumbledore admitted with a sigh as he paused in his story. "But as you can tell, since he left school his life is shrouded in mystery. However, we know enough to know he's truly an evil man."

"Yes, he is," Harry agreed with a nod. "But how is his life story going to help me face him?"

"This is just some background information," Dumbledore said with a small smile. "The real help will come in our later lessons, when we dive into the dark magic he uses to keep himself alive. Trust me Harry, by the time we've had a few lessons we'll have the upper hand on Voldemort. Together we can work out how to defeat him once and for all."

Harry nodded as he wondered just how much Dumbledore knew about his grandfather and his Horcruxes. It definitely sounded as though Dumbledore knew about them, but it was clear they weren't going to get to anything like that today. More than likely he'd have to endure several lessons with the headmaster before they got to the juicy stuff. But Harry could cope, especially as he was making notes so he could tell his grandfather just what Dumbledore knew about him.


	22. Chapter 22

Severus was distinctly unimpressed when news of his relationship with Hermione spread around the school. Of course, once the word was out they could do nothing to stop it, but he still expressed his annoyance with Dumbledore. He felt that as Headmaster Dumbledore should have done something to ensure the portraits in his office didn't spread gossip. But then again, it was just another perfect example of the lack of control Dumbledore had over the school.

With his obvious displeasure at the news being leaked, Severus was even more unapproachable than normal, therefore he was shocked when Dumbledore made an appearance in his office shortly after the final lesson on Monday. The Headmaster quickly explained that he couldn't stay as he was preparing for a meeting after dinner, but he still had time to offer Severus a switch of teaching positions.

"You want me to teach Defence?" Severus questioned, checking he was understudying the headmaster clearly.

"Yes, starting from next Monday," Dumbledore confirmed with a nod.

"I thought you didn't want me teaching Defence in case I became tempted by the Dark Arts," Severus said. Even though he knew he'd convinced Dumbledore that he'd turned his back on the dark, he was aware the headmaster was always slightly cautious when it came to letting him deal with anything even remotely dark.

"I trust you Severus, and it's time I proved it," Dumbledore said. "Besides, I was often worried you might be tempted by the darkness when you had nothing else in your life. However, that's not the case these days. I hear you've been seeing a bit of the lovely Rosmerta down in the village."

"You're trusting me because I'm in a relationship?" Severus questioned in bewilderment.

"I can just see that you've got something to stay on the straight and narrow for," Dumbledore said. "I know it's hard for you playing the spy and pretending to be on Voldemort's side. I just think Rosmerta is another anchor to keep you with the light. So what do you say Severus, will you switch lessons?"

"Who will teach Potions?" Severus asked. "I don't mean to boast, but Potions is harder to teach then Defence. It's much more specialised."

"I've got that all sorted," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "I've been in touch with Horace, and he's agreed to come out of retirement for the year. We can then discuss the possibility of him staying on at the end of the year."

"You've persuaded Slughorn to come back to teaching?" Severus was rather stunned by the news as he'd always gotten the impression the wizard had disliked teaching, at least that was the impression he'd gotten when he'd been taught by the old man.

"Yes, although it wasn't easy," Dumbledore admitted. "I had to promise him the Defence Professors office, so you'll have to stay down here, I'm afraid."

"I'd rather stay down here," Severus replied.

Dumbledore's face broke out into a wide smile at Severus's words. "So that's a yes? You'll take the position?"

"I will," Severus confirmed.

"Excellent, I'll inform the staff over the course of the week and we'll make the official announcement on Monday morning once Horace is here and all settled in," Dumbledore announced, before saying his goodbyes and leaving the office.

Severus sat contemplating what the change of job would mean for him, before he rose to his feet and headed into his private quarters. Once there he quickly changed and decided to pay his father a visit before he headed down to the Three Broomsticks where he was due to have dinner with Rosmerta. Heading to his own cottage first, he then flooed to his father's house where he found Voldemort and Beth in the front room, just settling down with a relaxing glass of wine.

"Severus, we weren't expecting you," Beth said with a smile as she offered her step-son a drink.

"Is Hermione okay?" Voldemort immediately checked as Severus refused Beth's offer of a beverage. Severus had let him and Beth know about having to break cover with Hermione, and the subsequent gossip that had occurred thanks to the portraits, and he was anxious about what that would mean for his two children.

"Hermione's fine," Severus said as he sat down apposite his father and Beth. "She can handle a bit of gossip."

"Is that all it is?" Beth checked. "She's not being bullied, is she?"

"No-one would dare," Severus snorted. "Hermione could hold her own in a situation like that, but I would kill anyone messing with my sister and the entire school knows that. She's perfectly fine. Plus she has Harry at her side, he won't let anyone say anything bad about her."

"He's a good boy," Beth said with a proud smile. Even though she was technically Harry's step-grandmother, she thought of him as a son and loved him as such.

"So if we have no problem with Hermione, why are you here?" Voldemort asked.

"Not that we're not happy to see you," Beth hastily added as she gave her husband an unimpressed glare. "You just didn't mention coming to see us."

"Because I hadn't planned to," Severus said. "I'm actually having dinner with Rosmerta, I just wanted to let you know that Dumbledore has offered me the Defence position. He's going to bring in another Professor for the rest of the year."

"Yes, Horace Slughorn," Voldemort said with a nod. "Bernard Nott has filled me in on the decision."

"I just wanted to check you were happy with what was going on," Severus said.

"Let Dumbledore do what he wants," Voldemort said with a shrug. "He won't be around for much longer."

"Speaking of which, Harry, Hermione and Draco have found the vanishing cabinet," Severus said. "I've checked it over and it just needs minor repairs. Hermione should have it up and running in a few weeks so we can test it to make sure it's operable."

"Will we still be going ahead with our original plan?" Beth asked with a frown. "Surely what happened with you and Hermione changes things."

"My thoughts exactly," Voldemort said quietly. "I was hoping we could discuss things over Easter and make some fresh plans."

"I'll tell you now, Harry and Hermione want to stick with the original plan," Severus said. "Obviously I'll have to leave with you and Hermione, but Harry is confident he can handle things alone if we stick with the original plan."

Voldemort frowned and Severus could see the concern evident in his father's eyes. While Voldemort was a dark wizard and wasn't opposed to doing whatever it took to get what he wanted, he was still a strong family man and his family came first. Potentially leaving his grandson in harm's way wouldn't be something he would do without a great deal of thought.

"What do you think, Severus?" He finally asked. "Can he handle it?"

"Objectively speaking, yes," Severus replied. "He's smart, and he's remained on Dumbledore's good side for almost five years. No-one will ever suspect him of betraying the light and secretly working with us. He can carry out his part of the plan without me easily."

"But there's a but," Voldemort surmised.

"But, he's my son and I'm not sure I want to leave him in danger," Severus admitted. "I know it would only be for a few days, but I would never forgive myself if anything went wrong and he was exposed when we weren't there to protect him."

"I think this needs a lot of thought," Voldemort said. "We'll discuss it together as a family over Easter. I'd like to hear what Harry has to say for himself."

"Although if we do decide to leave Harry in school, I'm sure we can come up with some extra way of protecting him," Beth suggested. "No matter what we decide, Harry won't be in any more danger than he's been in for the last five years."

"Considering he's had more brushes with danger than I would have liked in the last five years, that's not very reassuring," Severus muttered as he got to his feet.

"Don't worry Severus, nothing will happen to Harry," Voldemort reassured his son. "We'll make the final decision over Easter, but for now we proceed as though things are running to our original plan. Make sure Hermione fixes the cabinet, and we give it a test run. But for now, go and have dinner with your girlfriend."

"And don't forget, we want to meet her," Beth added, giving Severus a peck on the cheek.

"Over Easter," Severus promised as he said goodbye to Voldemort and Beth and headed off to meet his girlfriend.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

By the end of the week, Severus had let go of his anger in regards to the gossip surrounding his relationship with Hermione. A couple of evenings with Rosmerta had helped his temperament, not to mention the fact his sister seemed to be taking everything in her stride. The revelation really hadn't seemed to have affected her much, and aside from Ron Weasley, who was obviously ignoring her, everyone else had stuck by her. To be honest, Severus thought the revelation could have even been a blessing in disguise as it meant his sister, and to a lesser extent his son, didn't have to put up with the annoying ginger teenager.

When Severus headed into the library on Friday lunchtime to pick up a couple of extra books for his first year Potions class, he didn't expect to run into his son hovering in the Potions section. Harry clearly wasn't expecting to see him either, and he looked incredibly flustered when he turned round and found his father behind him.

"I'm just grabbing a book," Harry said, answering a question Severus hadn't asked as he blindly grabbed a book from the shelf behind him.

"The art of brewing the perfect de-wrinkling potion," Severus read, raising his eyebrows at the book his son had picked up. "Feeling your age, are you Harry?"

Harry looked down at the book in his hands, and quietly cursing to himself he returned it to the shelf and pulled out a generic book. However, one look at his father showed him that Severus wasn't buying his excuse of looking for a book. With a sigh he replaced the second book and shrugged his shoulder.

"You got me. I'm not looking for books."

"So what are you doing?" Severus asked with a frown as he kept an eye out for anyone approaching them. Luckily the library seemed pretty deserted, so their chances of being caught talking were slim.

"Keeping an eye on Hermione," Harry said, answering with the first thing that came into his head.

"Why does she need you to keep an eye on her?" Severus asked as he moved forward and spotted his sister sitting at a table on the other side of the shelf alongside Daphne Greengrass. The two girls looked to be doing some homework, although they also looked to be chatting together quite happily.

"I just want to be sure she's safe," Harry said.

"Yes, because Daphne Greengrass is such a threat," Severus drawled. "Look, she's just laughed at something Hermione said. You're right, she's one to watch out for."

"Funny," Harry snapped, rolling his eyes at his father.

"You're so transparent, Harry," Severus chuckled as he put the pieces together and worked out what his son was really doing.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked with a frown.

"You're not watching Hermione, you're watching Daphne," Severus concluded with a smirk.

"How do you know?" Harry asked, his cheeks flaming bright red. "Has Draco been talking?"

"No, Draco hasn't said a word," Severus replied with another chuckle as he began to gather the books he wanted. "It's written all over your face. Although let me give you some advice, if you like her, talk to her."

"I can't, though, can I," Harry grouched. "She's not going to talk to me, Harry Potter, Dumbledore's golden boy. She's only being friendly with Hermione because she now knows she's not a muggleborn. Until the truth comes out about who we are, I don't stand a chance with her."

"I guess so," Severus replied with a thoughtful nod. "Although it wouldn't hurt to test the waters. If you like her, you could do with finding out if she likes you before she finds out the truth. I'll tell you now, you're going to have some girls after you just because of who you are next year. Girls like Pansy Parkinson, who flock to the boys with the most influence. I don't think Daphne is that sort, but it would be good to know. You need to see if you think she likes you for you, before the truth comes out."

"And how do I do that?" Harry asked with a wistful sigh as she turned his attention back to where Hermione and Daphne were still studying.

"Leave that to me," Severus said with a smirk as an idea began to form in his head. "By this time tomorrow, you'll know if there's even a glimmer of anything genuine between yourself and Daphne."

Leaving his son to wonder just what he had in mind, Severus grabbed the last of his books and exited the library. His plan would be easy to put in place, and if it worked it would at least give Harry an idea if Daphne was someone who was worth botching with. Severus didn't want Harry to get hurt, so he figured it was a good idea for his son to gauge Daphne's reaction to him before the truth was out. The last thing he wanted was for Harry to be stuck with a witch who only wanted him because he was the grandson of The Dark Lord. He wanted Harry to be happy, and he would do whatever he could to facilitate that.


	23. Chapter 23

Harry was well and truly baffled by his lunchtime conversation with his father, and he was still wondering what his father could do to help him see if Daphne did genuinely like him as he headed off to do his evening prefects patrols with Hermione. To make sure a prefect wasn't missing duty, they each had to sign in at the beginning of patrols in the prefects lounge on the second floor, before signing out again at the end of their patrols.

"This is such a hassle," Hermione complained as they trekked down from Gryffindor Tower. "I'm sure there's some other way to make sure the prefects are doing the job they've been entrusted to do."

"I'm sure there must be," Harry agreed, his mind still on Daphne and his father.

"What's wrong with you?" Hermione asked, noticing Harry's lack of alertness. "You've been quiet all afternoon. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Harry reassured his aunt. "Just typical teenage love problems."

"Ginny?" Hermione questioned with a frown. "Is she still after you?"

"Of course, maybe the truth will stop her interest at the end of the year," Harry suggested hopefully.

"I wouldn't count on it," Hermione muttered. "So if Ginny isn't your problem, what is? Or should I say, who is?"

"It's really nothing," Harry insisted. "I'm just thinking about next year, and what opportunities the truth will bring in the romance stakes."

"You need to be careful there," Hermione warned seriously. "You don't want the wrong sort of girl attaching themselves to you. You need to be sure they like you for you, not just for who you are."

"Yes, Aunt Hermione," Harry replied with a cheeky smile as he rolled her eyes at how like his father she sounded.

Hermione shot Harry an unimpressed look as she glanced around to make sure they were truly alone. "Quiet Harry, walls have ears."

"No-one's around," Harry said with a shrug.

"Even so, be more careful," Hermione scolded. "Now let's get signed in and get these patrols over with. I've got a ton of homework waiting for me up in Gryffindor Tower."

Harry followed his aunt into the prefects' lounge, only to find Daphne sitting on a chair inside the small room. As they entered she jumped to her feet, and warmly greeted Hermione.

"Professor Snape sent me to take over your patrol," She explained. "He wants to see you in his office."

"I wonder what's wrong," Hermione said in concern, her mind immediately turning to her father and wondering if something was wrong with him. But then again, if there was something wrong with Voldemort, surely Severus would have also wanted to see Harry.

"He said to tell you nothing was wrong and don't panic," Daphne said. "He just wants to see you about something. I asked me to take over your patrol this evening, and he said you would do mine on Sunday night with Draco."

"I better go and find out what's going on," Hermione said, still baffled by what was happening. She was even wondering if Severus was trying to allow her to spend some extra time with Draco, but that didn't really make sense as her brother knew she was already able to spend time with Draco.

While Hermione was puzzled by what was going on, Harry had a sneaking suspicion what his father was up to. He suspected Severus had asked Daphne to cover Hermione's patrols to give Harry a chance to spend a few hours with her and see if there was any sort of connection between them. Of course he couldn't say any of this to Hermione with Daphne in the room, so he had to let his aunt head off down to the dungeons still puzzling over what was happening.

"Shall we get going?" Daphne asked as she picked up the quill on the desk and signed her name on the parchment provided.

"Let's," Harry said, as he also added his name to the parchment and it magically flashed to acknowledge the patrol had started and the prefects had been logged.

Leaving the prefects lounge, the pair headed down to the ground floor to start their patrols. They travelled down to the bottom of the castle in silence as Harry wondered what to say to Daphne. After all, he was limited as to what he could tell her without revealing too much about his true self. He had to work out how to see if Daphne liked him without revealing he was secretly dark.

"You're awfully quiet," Daphne said nearly fifteen minutes into the patrol. "You've never struck me as the shy type."

"I'm not," Harry replied, deciding to seize the opportunity Daphne had provided him with and start a conversation with the witch he fancied. "But I admit, I'm not really sure what to say to you."

"I suppose we do come from two different worlds," Daphne conceded.

"Is that bad?" Harry asked.

"When we come from two worlds on the verge of a war with one another, yes it's bad," Daphne said with a slight chuckle.

"Do you really think there'll be a war?" Harry asked, even though his knew that was exactly what his grandfather was gearing up to.

"I do," Daphne confirmed with a war. "It's just a shame we're going to be on separate sides."

"We don't have to be," Harry blurted, before instantly regretting his choice of words. The last thing he wanted was to hint to Daphne that there was something more to him than met the eye.

"I rather think we do," Daphne said, not noticing anything peculiar in Harry's choice of words. "You're a nice boy, Harry, but face it, we're worlds apart. I come from a world of purebloods, wanting to rid the wizarding world of muggle influence, and you come from the group opposing us. I would never betray my family, and what I believe in, just because you happen to be quite cute."

Harry couldn't help the ecstatic grin that broke out over his face. "You think I'm cute?"

"I do," Daphne admitted, a slight blush staining her cheeks as she looked up at Harry through her thick, dark eyelashes. "But it doesn't matter. As I said, we come from two very different worlds."

"Maybe, but at least you think I'm cute," Harry replied, unable to wipe the large smile off his face.

Daphne chuckled lightly and shook her head at Harry as they continued on with the patrol. Since he'd gotten what he'd wanted, Harry changed the subject and didn't push Daphne any further about what she thought of him. Instead he kept the conversation light, and orientated around school, the one topic they did have in common at the present time.

"Well this has been fun," Harry said, nearly two hours later when they arrived back at the prefects lounge and signed out of their patrols. "It was nice talking to you, Daphne."

"You too, Harry," Daphne said with a small smile. "I better get back to the dungeons, I've got homework to do."

"Okay, bye," Harry called, watching as Daphne headed off down the stairs.

With a large smile on his face, Harry turned in the opposite direction and set off for Gryffindor Tower. When he arrived in Gryffindor Tower, he found Hermione sitting at one of the tables doing her homework, while the others from their year were settled down beside the fire playing exploding snap.

"Harry, come join us," Dean called.

"Two minutes," Harry called back, waving at his friends, before heading over to where Hermione was sitting. "Do you not want to join in?" He asked as he slid into the seat next to his aunt.

"We both know if I go over, Ron will start ranting," Hermione replied with a shrug. "Besides, I've got work to be getting on with."

"I wasn't sure if you would be here or not," Harry said, keeping his voice low so anyone who wanted to overhear would have to come right up to them and be obvious in what they were doing. "I thought you might still be down in the dungeons."

"I was down there for five minutes while my brother explained what he was up to," Hermione replied, talking equally as quiet as Harry. "So did it work?"

"It did," Harry confirmed with a wide smile. "She thinks I'm cute. She also thinks we're on different sides of the war, but that's understandable. The important thing is, I now know there's a genuine connection between us."

"I'm pleased for you, Harry," Hermione said with a smile. "You deserve to be happy."

"So do you," Harry said. "And I'm guessing you'll be very happy doing patrols on Sunday evening."

"I'm sure I can suffer through a couple of hours with Draco," Hermione replied with a sneaky smile.

"I'm sure you can," Harry agreed, chuckling slightly as he got to his feet. "I'm going to go and join the others, come over when you're finished. Don't let Ron stop you from hanging out with your friends."

Hoping his aunt would join them when she was finished her homework, Harry went over to join the others. He was even so pleased with the revelation that Daphne thought he was cute that he didn't mind that Ron was with the others and kept making sly remarks about Hermione. In fact everyone seemed to be ignoring Ron when he mentioned Hermione, so he soon dropped the subject and it was soon like every other evening up in Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

Hermione was rather dismayed to find that over the weekend, Ron had started to mellow towards her. He still wasn't really talking to her, and it was clear he still thought she couldn't be trusted, but he'd stopped running off whenever she turned up. He'd even started to talk to Harry again, and he'd stopped trying to persuade people to shun Hermione. That was how on Monday morning, Ron was sitting next to Harry at breakfast, despite the fact Hermione was on Harry's other side.

"Have you seen that bloke sitting at the Professors table?" Ron asked, nudging Harry and pointing out a plump, older looking wizard who was sitting talking to Dumbledore. "I wonder who he is."

"New Defence Professor?" Harry suggested, even though he knew his father was going to be switching subjects.

"Perhaps," Ron mused. "He looks a bit ancient, though."

"It's not like Dumbledore's a spring chicken," Hermione said with a snort.

"No-one asked for your opinion," Ron snapped, glaring at Hermione.

Hermione glared back at Ron, before she turned back to her breakfast. As she ate, she was aware of Ron continuing to speculate about the new Professor at the top table, but she refrained from saying anything more. Instead she ate her breakfast in silence, until she was interrupted by Dumbledore getting to his feet and calling for silence.

"As you know, Professor Umbridge has recently departed Hogwarts," Dumbledore began, pausing when there was a splattering of applause and cheers at the reminder the witch in pink had been dealt with. "As such, there's a change to staffing starting today. Our very own Professor Snape will be our new Defence against the Dark Arts Professor."

Dumbledore's announcement was met by cheers and clapping from the Slytherins, while Ron snorted inelegantly, pumpkin juice squirting from his mouth as he spluttered over the announcement.

"He cannot be serious," Ron grumbled, ignoring the fact he'd very nearly covered Neville with juice. "Who in their right mind would let Snape teach Defence? It's asking for trouble letting him anywhere near Dark Arts."

"The lesson is Defence, not Dark Arts," Hermione pointed out. "And Severus is perfectly qualified to teach the subject. He'll be a damn sight better than the other loser Professors we've had."

"Of course you're going to say that, you're his brat of a sister," Ron sneered. "In your eyes, he can do no wrong. But the rest of us see him for what he truly is Hermione."

"And what is that?" Hermione demanded.

"A no good Death Eater," Ron announced loudly.

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but Dumbledore cleared his throat and called for quiet in the room. Hermione gave Ron one final deadly look, before pivoting in her chair and facing the headmaster again.

"With Professor Snape moving classes, we've got a now Potions Professor," Dumbledore continued once the fuss in the room had calmed down. "I'd like you all to welcome Professor Horace Slughorn. Professor Slughorn used to teach at Hogwarts many years ago, and he's been kind enough to come out of retirement to help us out."

There was a polite splattering of applause for Slughorn as the breakfast dishes began to disappear from the four house tables. When Dumbledore dismissed everyone, Hermione grabbed her bag and stormed out of The Great Hall before she came to blows with Ron. Unfortunately, since Ron was in the same first class as her she couldn't avoid him for long as he entered the Charms classroom behind her and settled down with Harry.

"You know, this might not be so bad," Ron said to Harry. "Maybe having Slughorn here will be okay. He might not require such high standards for taking his class next year. We might still get to take Potions together next year."

"I'd never thought of that," Harry muttered, although he figured that Ron wouldn't be as keen to take lessons with him once the truth came out.

"Wouldn't it be great?" Ron continued, not noticing Harry's lack of enthusiasm.

"Yeah," Harry said, faking a smile and throwing it in Ron's direction.

"But then there's always Defence to think about," Hermione added, turning around to add a bit of fun to proceedings.

"What are you talking about?" Ron snapped.

"Think about it, if Severus requires top grades in Potions, what makes you think he'll require anything less in Defence?" Hermione questioned with a smirk. "You might get to carry on with Potions, but unless you pick your grades up, you'll miss out on Defence."

Hermione had the satisfaction of seeing the horror on Ron's face before Professor Flitwick entered the room and she turned back to the front of the classroom. Of course she knew her brother wouldn't be teaching Defence next year, but Ron didn't know that. It was fun to let him sweat about whether or not he was good enough to carry on in a lesson that could prove very useful in the upcoming war against Voldemort.


	24. Chapter 24

Sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the vanishing cabinet, Hermione gently stirred the pot of magical golden wood polish that needed to be applied to the cabinet. If the polish held onto the old wood, it would be the last job to finish fixing the cabinet. Hermione had been working on the cabinet for the last couple of weekends alongside Draco, and the blond was sitting with her as they prepared to apply the wood polish.

Harry had originally been planning on helping the pair, but Dumbledore had been monopolising all his spare time, with further lessons about Voldemort. From what Harry had been telling Hermione, not much was happening with the lessons, but Dumbledore kept promising some sort of big revelation. They were just hoping it came before Easter, so Harry would have something useful to report to Voldemort when they went home for the holidays.

"Are we ready?" Draco asked.

"Yes," Hermione replied in an unsure voice.

"What's wrong?" Draco questioned, surprised to hear the doubt in Hermione's voice. So far she'd seemed super confident in everything they'd done to fix the cabinet.

"What if it doesn't work?" Turning to face her boyfriend, Hermione voiced that worry that had been nagging at the back of her mind for weeks. Even though she trusted Severus to have steered her in the right direction, she was still worried in case the cabinet wasn't fixed when they'd finished with it.

"Then The Dark Lord will have to go with his back-up plan," Draco answered. "It's not ideal, but I'm sure he'll manage."

"I'm not so sure he's got a back-up plan," Hermione confessed. "Think about it. If he had another way into the school, why hasn't he used it before now? He's counting on this cabinet, I just know he is."

"And you don't want to fail him," Draco stated, hitting on Hermione's real fear.

"No, I don't," Hermione confessed in a small voice. "Not when I've already jeopardised things already."

"How have you jeopardised things?"

"All this mess with Umbridge and the truth coming out about Severus," Hermione answered. "If I hadn't waltzed out of detention, Severus never would have come looking for me, and we never would have been spotted together."

"In the grand scheme of things, I don't think it really matters that people know about you and Severus," Draco said. "The truth was going to come out eventually."

"But what if I've endangered Harry with the truth coming out now?" Hermione questioned. "What if something happens to him when we leave, because Severus wasn't there with him like he should be?"

"Nothing is going to happen to Harry," Draco said as he took hold of Hermione's hand. "Harry can take care of himself. Besides, you can't change what's already happened. We should be concentrating on fixing the cabinet."

"You're right," Hermione said, smiling at her boyfriend. "There's no point worrying over something that's already happened. Besides, we don't even know if Father will be happy to go along with the original plan and leave Harry alone with the Order. He might want to change things."

"He might," Draco agreed. "But it does still sound as though he wants to make a big entrance, so we should help there."

"We should," Hermione agreed as she got to her feet, with the tub of wood polish. "Are you ready?"

"Manually, or magically?" Draco checked how they were going to coat the cabinet in polish as he got to his feet.

"It needs to be done manually," Hermione said, producing two brushes. "You do the front, and I'll do the back."

Placing the tub of polish where they could both reach it, the couple got to work on coating the cabinet. As they worked, they chatted merrily and within forty minutes the entire cabinet was coated in the polish. As the last brush of polish covered the cabinet, a golden glow surrounded the piece of furniture and when it dimmed, Hermione and Draco found themselves looking at a cabinet that looked brand new.

"Do you think it worked?" Hermione asked.

"It certainly looks newer," Draco remarked. "Was that the point?"

"I don't know," Hermione confessed. "Severus just said we needed to coat the cabinet with this golden polish. He also said it was the last thing we needed to do."

"Maybe this is why," Draco suggested. "The polish seems to have transformed the cabinet into a newer model."

"I don't know about newer, but it's certainly more polished," Hermione mused as she walked round the cabinet. "Do you think it works now?"

"I guess we'll find out when Severus tries it," Draco replied.

"I wish we could try it out," Hermione grumbled. Her brother had been very clear on the fact that he would be the one trying it out to see if it was working.

"Do you even know how to operate a vanishing cabinet?" Draco asked.

"I do actually," Hermione admitted. "It's was explained in those books I was reading. If both cabinets are in working order, you just step inside one and it transports you to the other one, and you emerge from the second cabinet."

"And what if you try it and they don't both work?" Draco questioned.

"Things get nasty," Hermione confessed with a grimace as she recalled some of the stories she read about people being separated from various parts of their body. "Mainly body parts go missing."

"Can the parts to be reattached?" Draco asked, wincing at the images that filled his head.

"Not all the time," Hermione replied. "I read stories of people missing body parts for the rest of their lives."

"What sort of body parts?"

"Does it matter?" Hermione gave her boyfriend a bemused look. "A body part is a body part. I don't suppose it matters if it's a finger, an ear, or something else. I don't know about you, but I don't want to lose any of my body parts."

"No, I'm rather attached to my bits and pieces," Draco said, giving Hermione a suggestive grin.

Hermione chuckled at Draco, knowing just what bits and pieces he was referring to. Even though they'd only been together since the previous year, and the topic of sex had never been raised between them, she was aware of the growing sexual feelings between them. A couple of times things had gotten pretty heated between the pair, but Hermione wanted to wait and get things sorted out with her father before she progressed her relationship with Draco. After all, things would be so much easier when they could be out in the open with their relationship.

"I think it's safe to say we won't be testing the cabinet, not if we want to keep me intact," Draco said.

"Who says I want to keep you intact?" Hermione teased. "I might not be bothered by a few missing bits and pieces."

"It would bother you," Draco answered confidently. "Believe me, you'd be very upset if you had an incomplete boyfriend."

"I really don't think that's going to be an issue," Hermione replied with a laugh. "As much as I would love to test the cabinet, we're going to be good and wait until Severus is free."

"Is he not free this evening?" Draco checked. He couldn't remember seeing his godfather at dinner, and had been wondering if he'd headed down to Hogsmeade to have dinner with Rosmerta.

"He's in his office sorting out the Defence lessons," Hermione replied.

Severus had been the Defence Professor for a fortnight now, and everyone in the school knew he was not impressed with the mess Umbridge had left things in. As it turned out, the fifth years hadn't been the only class she'd made review the previous years' work. Apart from the first years, who didn't have any work to review, every other class had spent time going over stuff they'd previous learnt, or should have learnt in some cases. However, that meant that the fifth, sixth and seventh years had barely started on their workload for the year they were actually in, and Severus was severely concerned that certain people wouldn't ever be able to catch up.

To try and get everyone back on track, Severus had been assigning extra homework. Of course, Ron reckoned he was doing it deliberately just to make things harder for certain people, but he was very much a lone voice speaking out against the new Defence Professor. Even though a lot of the students were struggling with the amount of homework they had, they all agreed the head of Slytherin was doing everything he could to help the students get back to where they should be in the curriculum. Severus had even made it clear that anyone with concerns could go to his office at any time and he would try and help them get caught up. Unsurprisingly, Ron refused to go and speak to Hermione's brother, claiming that there was no point as Severus had made it clear his expectations for Defence were the same as his expectations in Potions, and only the best would survive in his classes.

"He's probably got a queue a mile long with students asking for help," Draco said. "I know both Theo and Pansy were planning on going to speak to him."

"Are they both struggling?" Hermione questioned, rather surprised to find Theo was struggling as she'd always thought he was pretty bright.

"Pansy is really in a mess, but the only way she would go for help is if someone went with her," Draco explained. "Since Theo is now the Minister's son and she's switched her attention to him, he drew the short straw and had to go with her."

"He had to?" Hermione questioned, not sure why anyone had to go with Pansy. Surely they could have let her suffer if she was too childish to seek the help she obviously needed.

"Technically he didn't have to, but Theo's a nice guy. He wasn't going to sit back and let Pansy struggle, just because she was being a drama queen about asking for help."

"I would have let her suffer," Hermione replied with a shrug.

"I know you would," Draco answered, pulling Hermione into his arms and smiling at his ruthless girlfriend. "That's because you're downright evil."

"Is that a problem?" Hermione asked with a pout as she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and smiled coyly up at him.

"Definitely not," Draco replied, tightening his hold on Hermione's waist. "I love your dark side."

"Just my dark side?" Hermione questioned teasingly.

"I love your good side as well," Draco answered. "In fact, I just plain love you."

Hermione couldn't help the ecstatic grin that broke out over her face at her boyfriend's confession. "I love you too, Draco," She returned, before pulling her boyfriend down into a deep kiss as they celebrated the newest milestone in their relationship.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

While Hermione and Draco were fixing the vanishing cabinet and swapping I love you's, Harry was stuck in Dumbledore's office, listening to the headmaster drone on about his grandfather. After briefly covering Voldemort's past in their first meeting, Dumbledore had dove into the past in more details in their subsequent lessons. Unfortunately the lessons had been going on every few days for the last couple of weeks and Harry was getting sick. It was clear Dumbledore didn't know anything of any importance about his grandfather's life as he'd never picked up on the fact he was married and had two children.

The only interesting thing that had happened, was Dumbledore telling Harry about the prophecy. As it turned out, Dumbledore was the person the prophecy was made to, therefore he knew all the details. Using a pensive and his memories, he'd repeatedly shown Harry the prophecy being made, from none other than Professor Trelawney. He'd then spent time rehashing the details and explaining why he was so convinced Harry was the child in the prophecy.

The first thing that convinced Dumbledore that Harry was a contender for the child in the prophecy was the line about the child been born as the seventh month ended, which coincided with Harry's birthday on the thirty first of July. The next part spoke about parents who had thrice defied the Dark Lord, which apparently Lily and James Potter had done, although Dumbledore was vague on what these three defiance's were. Next there was the bit about the child knowing power The Dark Lord did not, which Dumbledore reckoned was love. And lastly, there was the bit about Voldemort marking him as his equal, which Dumbledore reckoned he'd done after killing Lily and James, hence the scar on Harry's head.

Harry had never said anything when Dumbledore was mentioning his theory, but he could blow every single bit of Dumbledore's theory out of the water. Firstly the born at the end of July wasn't exclusive to him, dozens of children would have been born at the end of July. Neville Longbottom was a perfect example, being born just the day before Harry. The thrice defying the Dark Lord also wasn't right in his case, as his father wasn't James Potter. Although, Harry did conceded that Severus might have defied his father a time or two, just because he was bit of a rebel. But even if Severus had defied Voldemort a few times, and Lily had also defied him somehow, Harry didn't think it was important as there had to be dozens of people who had defied his grandfather over the years.

Harry also wasn't concerned about the part where Dumbledore reckoned Voldemort had marked him as his equal, as he knew the headmaster was being economical with the truth regarding his scar. No-one knew just who had given Harry his scar, it could easily have been Dumbledore himself, not Voldemort. And as for the bit about the child knowing power Voldemort didn't, which Dumbledore reckoned was love, Harry dismissed that straight out of hand. He knew his grandfather knew all about love. Voldemort had love in his life, powerful love at that, it was just that Dumbledore didn't know about it.

All in all, Harry decided that Dumbledore had twisted the prophecy to fit in with what he wanted to be true. Although it was handy that he now knew the prophecy and could warn his grandfather about it. Not that he thought Voldemort had anything to fear from the prophecy. All he had to do was avoid marking someone born at the end of July, with parents who had defied him, and there would be no-one to bring about his downfall.

Sadly for Harry, the prophecy had been the only interesting piece of information he'd elicited from his lessons from Dumbledore. Other than that, he was just sitting through boring lectures of stories he'd known his entire life. The only difference was, Dumbledore attempted to fill in the gaps of things he didn't know with speculation and guess work, whereas when Voldemort told stories of his past, he was actually telling the truth. Although some of what Voldemort had told him was far worse than anything Dumbledore could come up with.

As it usually did, Harry's mind had begun wandering as Dumbledore spoke, but he was brought back to the present when Dumbledore announced it was time to reveal Voldemort's big secret to Harry. Instantly Harry was on his guard, wondering if Dumbledore was going to mention the family his grandfather had.

"There is a reason Voldemort didn't die after events at your house when you were just a baby," Dumbledore said solemnly.

"That would be the lack of killing curse," Harry retorted, speaking before he remembered where he was and that he wasn't supposed to be so cheeky around Dumbledore. "Sorry sir, I didn't mean to be rude," He added hastily, hoping he hadn't raised Dumbledore's suspicions.

"It's okay, Harry," Dumbledore replied with a chuckle. "But as you know, there was a killing curse. The one he fired at you. That was the curse that rebounded, giving you your scar and rendering Voldemort weakened. It should have killed him, but something kept him alive."

"Dark magic?" Harry questioned, eager to hear Dumbledore's theories on his grandfather.

Dumbledore nodded, giving Harry a proud smile for working out the answer. "Indeed, dark magic. One of the darkest magic rituals around involves splitting your soul and creating things called Horcruxes. I believe that is what Voldemort did before he killed your parents. I believe he spent years splitting his soul and creating Horcruxes."

"And with them, he can't be killed?" Harry asked, playing the part of eager student, even though he was shocked to discover Dumbledore knew about his grandfather's Horcruxes.

"Exactly," Dumbledore said, once again bestowing Harry with a proud smile. "But I believe if we can find these Horcruxes and destroy them, we can kill Voldemort."

"How are we going to do that?" Harry asked. "What do Horcruxes look like? And how many do we have to find?"

"That my boy, is where we have a major problem," Dumbledore said with a rueful smile. "Horcruxes are normal everyday things, enchanted with dark magic to hold a piece of Voldemort's soul. They could be anything. In fact, I believe the old diary Miss Weasley found in second year was a Horcrux, and it was destroyed when you ruined the book to save her life."

"I destroyed a Horcrux without knowing?" Harry questioned with a frown, although his frown was more to do with the fact Dumbledore had identified the diary as a Horcrux.

"I believe so," Dumbledore answered. "Unfortunately, I only have vague ideas on what some of the other Horcruxes are and where they're located. But even if all my hunches are right, I'm not sure just how many Horcruxes we're looking for."

"How are we going to find out?" Harry asked, pleased to find that Dumbledore didn't know everything.

"We're going to continue looking into Voldemort's past," Dumbledore announced. "And starting next lesson we're going to view some memories from people who knew him, including some of my own memories. Maybe we can find some hints in his past."

Harry nodded, pretending to be eager to help Dumbledore. Instead he was eager for the Easter holidays to roll around so he could speak to his grandfather. Even though Dumbledore didn't know everything, he still knew more than was healthy. There was no doubt that if Dumbledore didn't go soon, he could prove to be deadly for his grandfather. It was just lucky that Dumbledore didn't have long left and he would be long dead before he could figure out how many Horcruxes Voldemort had, and where he had them all hidden.


	25. Chapter 25

Voldemort stood at his bedroom window, staring unseeingly out over the large back garden and the beautiful countryside beyond the property line. During the day, the views from the master bedroom were pretty stunning, but it was nearing midnight therefore the views weren't as great. Not that Voldemort was bothered by views, his mind was on other things. He was standing at the window contemplating recent events, and worrying about future events.

Voldemort had never been a believer in karma, or any theories that subscribed to the thought you got the luck you deserved. He'd always believed that you made your own luck, and your successes were down to how hard you applied yourself. However, just recently he was beginning to worry just how easy things had been for him. Apart from a few minor blips, everything had ran smoothly since Hermione and Harry had started school. All their plans had come off, and now it was time for their big move and Voldemort was worried that something was going to go wrong. After so much good luck, what if they found themselves suffering a wave of bad luck when everything went wrong?

Shaking his head, Voldemort tried to dismiss his troublesome thoughts, but it was no good. The thoughts had entered his head, and now there was no getting rid of them. He would just have to face up to his worries that things were going to change for them. He would have to consider that everyone wouldn't carry on running as smoothly as they had been. Of course, Voldemort expected bumps in the road, and he didn't expect every single plan they made to come off flawlessly, but the last thing he wanted was for their luck to change with them preparing for the biggest move they'd made in well over a decade.

Voldemort had already thought of dozens of ways their plan could go wrong, and all of them involved someone he loved ending up hurt or dead. He especially thought Harry was extra vulnerable now the truth had emerged about Hermione and Severus being siblings. The big question was, how he was going to let these worries affect him. Was he going to let them control his decision making, and change plans, or was he going to put his trust in Harry and carry on with the original plan?

"Hell if I know," Voldemort muttered to himself, leaning forward and resting his head against the cool glass of the window.

"Hell if you know what?" Beth asked from behind him, emerging from the bathroom just in time to hear her husband muttering to himself.

"Just thinking out loud," Voldemort replied, glancing back over his shoulder and giving his wife a reassuring smile.

Beth gave her husband a knowing nod as she walked over to him and stood behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "You're fretting about something," She stated quietly. "What's bothering you?"

"What's not?" Voldemort replied with a snort. "Something is going to go wrong, Beth, I can feel it."

"You mean with the Hogwarts attack?" Beth checked.

Voldemort nodded his head once. "You know I've never believed in luck, but you have to admit we've had a fair bit of it in the last few years. First the ritual to restore me to health went off without a hitch, my forces are growing daily, those I've released from Azkaban are settling back in at home, and now everything is progressing perfectly with our plan. Severus called earlier, and Hermione's fixed the cabinet. Of course we still need to run some final tests, but it's looking promising."

"So what's the problem?" Beth asked gently. "It's not like we haven't had our share of bad luck as well. Just look at what happened to Severus, he lost the woman he loved and almost lost his son. You spent years without any real magic and strength, and even though you were around you missed out on so much when Hermione and Harry were growing up because you weren't fit enough to leave the house. I would say it's about time things went our way. We've certainly worked for it."

"I suppose you're right," Voldemort conceded with a sigh. "I'll try and stop worrying about all this luck nonsense."

"And then what are you going to start worrying about?" Beth asked, knowing her husband all too well. If he'd genuinely stopped worrying, he would have taken her in his arms and taken her to bed, but he was still standing tensely looking out of the window.

"Even without taking luck into account, any number of things could go wrong with the plan," Voldemort responded. "Providing we even stick to the original plan."

"You want to pull Harry out with Severus and Hermione?" Beth questioned, reaching up and running her fingers through her husband's short, dark hair.

"That means altering the plan completely," Voldemort sighed, taking comfort in his wife's embrace. "I'm many things Beth, but I'm not a complete monster. I won't risk fighting with innocent children in the school. If Harry leaves with Severus and Hermione, our way back into the school is lost."

"But if he stays he's alone," Beth whispered, voicing the proviso her husband had failed to mention.

"I don't know if I can risk that," Voldemort admitted. "If things went wrong and something happened to him, I would never forgive myself. I would not only lose Harry, but I would also lose Severus. He wouldn't forgive me if I got his son killed, and I wouldn't blame him one bit."

Slightly annoyed by her husband's negative attitude, Beth roughly gripped him by the shoulders and spun him around to face her. "Do you think I want anything to happen to him? I love that boy as if he were my own."

"I know that, Beth," Voldemort interrupted just as Beth took a breath to carry on. "I didn't mean to discount your feelings."

"You didn't," Beth said with a shake of her head. "But you didn't let me finish. I love Harry, and I would die if anything happened to him, or Hermione or Severus for that matter. But I do think you need to talk to him about this before you make any decisions. If he's adamant about staying behind, I say we trust his judgement."

"Even if it puts him in danger?"

"Even then. I know our instincts are to protect him, but he's proved that he can take care of himself. Just look at what he faced last year. I know he had Hermione and Draco at his side, and Severus was watching over him, but Harry still had to face The Triwizard Tournament on his own. No-one was there to hold his hand when he battling a dragon, or when he down in the Black Lake saving Hermione, or fighting for his life in a maze. He did all of that himself, and he emerged on top. He's not to be underestimated. Our Harry is tougher than he looks."

Voldemort nodded slowly, digesting everything his wife had said. She was right, he really shouldn't make any decisions before first talking to his grandson. However, even if he did agree to let Harry stay on at Hogwarts by himself, he was putting extra precautions in place.

"So, are you going to stop worrying now?" Beth asked. "It's not a good way to pass the time."

"I know," Voldemort admitted. "Maybe I'm just anxious because I've never done things this way before. Before it was all fighting and violence, now it's strategy and planning."

"You miss the action," Beth stated with a chuckle. Even though she knew her husband was right in approaching things differently this time around, she wasn't surprised to find he missed the action of the past when he tried to take power by force.

"I do," Voldemort confessed with a slow smile. "A good battle also helped with my excess energy."

"Maybe I could help with that," Beth said seductively as she tugged at the tie on her dark blue dressing gown, before shrugging it off and revealing her black and red underwear to her husband's hungry gaze.

"That sounds like a great idea," Voldemort replied, reaching for his wife and pulling her into a steamy embrace. Locked together, the couple collapsed on their large bed, all of Voldemort's worries disappearing as his wife kissed away his troubles.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

Ensconced on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione sat curled up in the corner of the compartment, Crookshanks on her knee and the morning's edition of the Daily Prophet sitting beside her waiting to be read. Although Hermione couldn't yet settle down to read her paper as Ron and Harry were currently bickering over her. For the last few weeks, Ron had sadly been back in their lives, however his digs against Hermione had continued. Just now he'd made yet another remark about her being Severus's sister, and Harry had finally had enough, telling Ron to either apologise and move on or go away and leave them alone.

"You seriously want me to apologise?" Ron repeated for at least the fifth time.

"Either that, or go," Harry said with a shrug. "I've held my tongue for weeks now, but I've had enough. Hermione is my friend Ron, and I don't care who her brother is. I won't stand back while you imply she's up to something."

"I'm sorry, but I can't trust her anymore," Ron said. "She's lied to us from the day we met her. And I'm sorry, but I also don't believe her brother is on our side. He's a Death Eater, and nothing anyone can say will change my mind on that."

"I'm leaving if he's going to start insulting my brother," Hermione said stiffly. She didn't care what Ron said about her, but it had always bothered her when he started on Severus, and now she didn't have to pretend otherwise.

"Don't bother, I'm going," Ron announced, glaring at Hermione. "Let me know when you come to your senses, Harry. You never know, maybe living with Sirius in the summer will set your straight."

Harry rolled his eyes as Ron stormed out of the compartment. With Ron gone, he exchanged relieved smiles with Hermione and the pair settled down to enjoy the journey home in peace. The last few weeks had been rather hectic, and they were both looking forward to spending a few weeks at home.

With the vanishing cabinet fixed, and fully tested by Severus, Hermione had devoted her free time to homework, specifically catching up in Defence to where the class should be. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't had quite as much time to dedicate to his homework as he still had to endure classes with Dumbledore, during which he'd learnt just what the headmaster knew about his grandfather's Horcruxes. Then there'd been quidditch practices and matches for him to participate in. But even so, he was starting to get caught up to where they were up to. Hopefully with a bit more time on his work he'd be up to date before the exams started a few weeks after their return from Easter.

"Anything interesting in the paper?" Harry asked, spotting the paper sitting next to his aunt.

"I haven't looked yet, but there's supposed to be a full run down of Nott's new policies," Hermione answered as she picked the paper up. "Apparently he's finished restructuring the Ministry now, so his new polices are ready to be put into practice."

"Interesting," Harry said, moving over to sit next to his aunt. "Let's have a look then."

Finding the relevant pages, Hermione and Harry began to read about the changes at the Ministry and the new laws that were being introduced. The first thing they read about was the abolishment of the department Arthur Weasley worked for. The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department was no more, and it was replaced with the Anti-Muggle Artefact Department. The new laws made it illegal for anyone in the wizarding world to own artefacts from the muggle world, either enchanted or in their natural non-magical state. The Ministry had announced a four week amnesty for people to turn in their muggle artefacts, after that anyone caught in possession of muggle things would be punished and could face several months in prison or heavy fines.

"Blimey, Ron's father will have to turn over practically everything he owns," Harry laughed. "Apparently he's got a shed full of muggle contraptions."

Hermione chuckled at the thought of Arthur having to give up his precious muggle artefacts, before turning her attention back to the paper. After scanning over a few minor changes to departments, she focused on the muggleborn initiatives. There was actually no laws to stop muggleborns entering their world, all the laws were aimed to separate the wizarding world from the muggle world. Travel between the two worlds was going to be heavily monitored, ensuring that the wizarding world remained the secret it was designed to be.

Then there were the new laws regarding new muggleborns entering the wizarding world. From now on new muggleborns could only inform their direct family, parents and siblings, about their magic. For the duration of their stay at Hogwarts, their families would know about the wizarding world. However, once they graduated, a team of specially trained obliviators would visit their muggle family and remove their memories of magic. It was then up to the muggleborn to ensure their family never discovered the wizarding world existed. Details of punishments if they failed to maintain the secrecy hadn't been disclosed, but Hermione suspected it would meant the muggleborn would be kicked out of the wizarding world.

"I wonder what they're going to do about all the muggles that already know about the wizarding world," Harry mused as they read about the new laws. "Take my aunt and uncle for example, they knew it exists because my Mum was a witch."

"I'm guessing they'll all be obliviated," Hermione replied with a shrug. "Providing the Ministry have kept decent records over the years."

"It could prove to be a long job," Harry said.

"If anyone can do it, Father can," Hermione said confidently. "He'll make sure the wizarding world is safe and secret once again."

Harry nodded in agreement as the pair delved back into the papers. Unfortunately they'd read about all the interesting changes, and the other changes were just general policy that didn't interest them. Throwing the paper to one side, the pair settled down and spent the rest of the train journey talking about their upcoming break, and how much they were looking forward to seeing Voldemort and Beth, not to mention meeting Rosmerta, which Severus had assured them would happen over the holidays.

When the train arrived in King's Cross Station, Harry half expected to be bombarded with Weasleys once he and Hermione stepped onto the platform, because even though he was supposed to be going home, he wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to have asked Molly to try and convince him to go back to the Order with her. However, there was no sign of Molly waiting for her children. Harry had just turned to ask Hermione if she'd spotted the red-headed woman, when Harry spotted something he'd never seen before in his life. His Uncle Vernon was on the platform, looking around uncomfortably as he stood next to Beth and Molly. Of course Harry had never met his uncle in person, but he'd seen pictures of his mother's family so if he ever had to talk about them he had an image in his head of the people he was talking about.

"Is that your Uncle Vernon?" Hermione hissed in Harry's ear, sounding almost as surprised as her nephew felt.

"It is," Harry answered with a nod. "Wow, they're going all out to make sure I don't get whisked away by the Order."

Exchanging bemused looks, the pair set off to where the adults were waiting. By the time they reached the adults, the twins, Ron and Ginny had reached Molly's side. Everyone but Ron greeted Harry and Hermione warmly as they approached, although Hermione could have sworn that Molly frowned at her before politely saying hello.

"Harry, I've just been speaking to your uncle," Molly said, bestowing Harry with a bright smile. "I'm trying to convince him that you'd be happier spending the holidays with us."

"Thank you Mrs Weasel, but Harry is coming home with me," Vernon said stiffly.

"It's Weasley," Molly corrected, frowning slightly at the muggle man. "And as I was saying, it's really not a hardship. We think of Harry as part of the family."

"But he's not, is he?" Vernon retorted sharply. "He's my family, and he's coming home with me. Now the very lovely, Mrs Granger has offered to help escort us out of this place. So if you'll excuse us Mrs Weasel, we'll be saying goodbye."

"Weasley," Molly muttered, but Vernon wasn't listening as he turned to Beth and gave her a warm smile.

"Mrs Granger, thank you for your kindness," He said.

"It's my pleasure," Beth replied, smiling back at the muggle man.

"Is my uncle flirting with your Mum?" Harry whispered to Hermione as they said goodbye to the Weasleys and followed Beth and Vernon towards the muggle exit.

"I don't think that's your uncle, Harry," Hermione whispered back. Judging from the way her mother and Harry's 'uncle', were interacting, Hermione suspected her father had decided to have a bit of fun with some polyjuice potion.

Harry frowned momentarily, before understanding dawned on him and he realised his 'uncle' was really his grandfather. Chuckling in amusement he and Hermione followed the adults out into the muggle part of the station. From there they headed home, along with Vernon, who had indeed been Voldemort using polyjuice potion. When Harry asked about the deception, Voldemort explained that he wanted to be sure Harry returned home. They had a lot to discuss over the holidays, and it was vital Harry spent the break with his family. The final showdown with Dumbledore was fast approaching, and everything needed to be in place before the pair returned back to school for their final term undercover.

* * *

 **A/N – Just want to quickly thank people for their reviews and interest in this story. I'm so pleased so many people are enjoying COTD. I've had a few questions about the number of chapters in this year, making me realise I forgot to mention it earlier when I finished writing the story. This year has 39 chapters – so we've still got a fair way to go in this one. Although, as I said before this is very much the big year action wise. However, year six is turning out to be longer than I expected as I've still got so much more I want to happen. But for now, I hope you enjoy the rest of year five as I try and get on with year six and start thinking about year seven.**


	26. Chapter 26

Draco didn't always bother going home for the Easter holidays, but this time he wasn't missing the trip home for anything. With any luck the final plans for Voldemort's entry into Hogwarts would be discussed, and he could find out what sort of role he was going to play. Voldemort and his father had been keeping things pretty close to their chest, and so far Draco, Hermione and Harry only knew the bare bones of the plan. Although considering recent events, Draco wasn't even sure if the plan would be running the same or if The Dark Lord had a new plan in motion.

When Draco arrived back at the manor and his mother informed him that Hermione and her family were coming to dinner, he had hoped he would get his answers immediately. However, it was clear when his girlfriend and her family arrived that the evening would be purely social. Right away, Voldemort made it clear that all talk of the upcoming attack on Hogwarts would be dealt with later in the holidays.

"If we can't talk about our plans for the future, can we at least talk about Umbridge?" Hermione asked her father. "What happened to her?"

"She lost her senior position at the Ministry," Voldemort replied. "Nott wanted to sack her, and press charges, but I persuaded him to leave her alone for the time being. Right now, she's working in a menial post at the Ministry."

"And that's it?" Hermione questioned, her dissatisfaction written all over her face. "She tortured me with her enchanted quill, and gets away with a demotion at work?"

"Do you honestly think I'd leave it at that?" Voldemort asked with a low chuckle. "Don't worry Hermione, that little toad will get her comeuppance. Once we've dealt with Dumbledore and the world knows who you are, I'll be paying her a visit. And chances are by the time I've finished with her, she won't even be fit for the menial little job she's got now."

Hermione smiled wickedly at her father, appreciating his plan to get vengeance for the way she'd been treated by Umbridge. Now all she had to do was persuade him to take her with him when he paid Umbridge a visit. Hermione wanted front row seats as the little toad in pink suffered for what she'd put her through.

"So how are things at school now the truth about Severus being your brother is out?" Narcissa asked Hermione, expertly moving into a new topic of conversation. "Are people treating you any differently?"

"Ron was his usual judgemental self," Hermione answered. "He reckons I'm an evil, no good liar, who's up to something with her wicked brother."

"Smart kid," Voldemort chuckled.

"Not smart, just bigoted," Harry corrected. "He may be on the right track, but not because he's smart. Dad really could have turned over a new leaf and genuinely be on the light, and Ron would never believe it. He thinks Dad is evil, so by association Hermione must also be evil."

"He's not bullying you, is he?" Beth checked with a frown as she turned to her daughter.

"Ron?" Hermione laughed at the very suggestion she would let herself be bullied by someone like Ron. "I can handle him. He throws lame insults around, and I ignore him."

"And what about everyone else?" Narcissa asked. "Have they reacted like the Weasley boy?"

"No, actually everyone's been really good," Hermione admitted. "The other Gryffindors don't seem to mind at all. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs barely noticed me anyway, so it's made no difference to them."

"And the Slytherins?" Lucius enquired, shooting a sly glance at his son. He knew Draco hadn't been able to say anything when his friends had encountered Hermione and Harry over the years, but he hoped he hadn't stood back and let the other Slytherins turn on Hermione in light of recent revelations.

"They've been surprisingly quiet," Hermione admitted. "Apart from Daphne, who's been more friendly than normal. But I think the others have been avoiding me."

"They have," Draco confirmed with a laugh. "Blaise and Theo are worried in case Severus gets onto them for insulting his sister."

"Hmm, I might have to think about that," Severus said with a slight smirk. "It's never occurred to me that I've got four and half years of insults to make up for. I could have some fun with those two."

"Just don't completely alienate them Severus," Voldemort warned his son. "When the time comes, I want all of Draco's friends at our side."

"They will be," Draco said confidently. "Nothing will stop Blaise and Theo joining our team."

"I should hope not," Voldemort said. "But we can discuss that more in a few days, when I'll let everyone know what I expect of them when the time comes. Now let me tell you about my trip to London this afternoon to pick Harry up from the station."

"You went to pick Harry up?" Lucius questioned, looking across the table at the Dark Lord with a puzzled frown.

"Not only that, I got to meet the Weasley woman," Voldemort said with a smirk. "Can you imagine how funny it was to talk to her while she didn't have a clue who I truly was? I tell you, I had to work hard to keep up the act."

"And just who did Molly Weasley think you were?" Narcissa asked.

"Harry's Uncle Vernon," Voldemort announced.

"You posed as a muggle?" Lucius chuckled, wishing he'd seen it. Narcissa had been the one to go and pick Draco up from the station, but she'd mentioned that she hadn't seen Beth, so he was figuring she hadn't seen Voldemort either.

"Not my ideal way to spend an hour, but it was worth it to witness the Weasley woman practically grovelling to me," Voldemort answered.

"Why was she grovelling?" Draco asked.

"She was trying to persuade me to allow Harry to spend the holidays with her," Voldemort explained. "Obviously, I wasn't having any of it."

"She's likely gone home complaining about my rude Uncle," Harry laughed. "You should have heard Grandpa, he kept calling her Mrs Weasel. It was hilarious."

"Yeah it was," Hermione agreed with a laugh of her own before she suddenly frowned. "Hey, what if she tells Dumbledore and he gets it into his head that he needs to go and speak to the Dursleys? The Order might think they're going to have problems getting Harry away from the Dursleys so he can go and live with Sirius."

"Don't worry, we've got everything in hand," Severus reassured his sister. "I visited the Dursleys earlier today, which is where the hair for the polyjuice potion came from. I placed a spell on the house so I would be alerted to any magical presence at the house. I've also given them strict instructions that if Dumbledore does show up, they're to say Harry is out with some muggle friends. I'll then get Harry to the Dursleys as quick as I can, and we can deal with Dumbledore. Not that I think he's going to be hassling the Dursleys, right Harry?"

"Right," Harry agreed, nodding his head at his father. "During those boring lessons with Dumbledore, I dropped plenty of hints about the Dursleys, indicating they need to be handled with care. I've got Dumbledore convinced that if I handle things myself, there'll be no problem with my moving in the summer, but if he barges in, he could ruin everything."

"You played up the fact the pair don't like magic?" Severus checked with his son. He knew from experience that Petunia detested magic and she'd hated having a witch as a sister, even though her hatred stemmed from jealously.

"I did," Harry confirmed. "I'd be very surprised if Dumbledore risked visiting the Dursleys. After all, he just dumped me on them, so they could cause problems if they wanted to. If he knows what's good for him, he'll stay well away. And since they're all so desperate to move me in with Sirius, they'll behave and let me handle things."

"It sounds like you have the Order eating out of the palm of your hand, Harry," Voldemort remarked thoughtfully.

Sensing an opportunity to convince his grandfather to stick with his original plan, and leave him with the Order after his arrival at Hogwarts, Harry grinned cockily at Voldemort. "I do. They all love me, and wouldn't dream of questioning anything I say. I'm their golden boy, and in their eyes I can do no wrong."

"Way to be subtle," Hermione hissed in amusement, lightly elbowing Harry in the ribs.

"Hermione's right, there was no subtlety there son," Severus agreed with a chuckle. "You might have well just said, I want to be left alone with the Order after your first visit to Hogwarts."

"Fine," Harry said with a shrug as he looked his grandfather in the eye. "I want to stick to the original plan, only Dad obviously has to leave with Hermione. I can manage everything on my own, and no-one will suspect a thing. I can do this, Grandpa. Please let me prove myself to you."

Voldemort was silent for a long time before he slowly nodded his head. "Well, since the topic's been raised, we might as well discuss things now. Harry, I am going to stick with the original plan, meaning you'll be on your own with the Order for a couple of days, forty-eight hours maximum. Can you handle that?"

"Of course," Harry confirmed, his face breaking out into a delighted grin.

"We will be taking precautions, though," Beth warned. "We're going to give you an enchanted coin that you're to keep on you at all times. If at any time you feel as though your cover had been blown, or you're in danger, if you rub the coin one of our elves will be at your side in a moment. The elf can then whisk you away, before anyone can harm you."

"I didn't think elves could get people past the wards of Hogwarts," Lucius said with a frown.

"Normally they can't," Severus said. "But I've been altering a few wards over the last few months and experimenting with one of our elves. I've now got the wards, so an elf belonging to our family can pass through the wards with someone who's a part of our family."

"Will Dumbledore not notice the altered ward?" Hermione checked. "Surely the first thing he'd going to do when we leave is check the wards."

"I'm sure he will, but he won't be looking for this ward," Severus answered. "It's specific to our family. The ward wouldn't be detected unless he knew what he was looking for, and he has no reason to expect there's anyone else related to Father in the school. If he does find the ward, we're in trouble as it means he knows more than he's letting on."

"And if that happens?" Hermione asked, worried for Harry and his safety once he's left alone in Hogwarts.

"If that happens, we attack without warning," Voldemort said firmly. "If Harry sends for assistance, and our elf can't get through, then we've got a fight on our hands. I will get into that school with force if I have to. My grandson will not be hurt, and that is a promise."

Harry grinned at his grandfather, thrilled he had such a protective family. As he often was, he was grateful that Severus was his father and not James Potter. If that had been the case, he would have just been abandoned with the Dursleys and would have likely grown up unwanted and unloved by his mother's family. But as it was, he'd grown up surrounded by people who loved him, and for that he would be forever grateful.

"Hopefully Dumbledore finding the ward, won't be an issue," Harry said. "So let's forget about that scenario, and talk about what we want to happen. We should get everything in place before we go back to school."

"We do have all the holidays," Beth pointed out. "There's no rush to discuss everything tonight."

"I know, but can we at least go over the broad strokes of the plan?" Harry asked.

"I see no harm in that," Voldemort said with a nod. "At Hermione's request, we're not moving in until after the exams."

"Gee, thanks Hermione," Draco muttered, rolling his eyes at his girlfriend.

"Exams are important," Hermione said stubbornly. Even Draco hadn't been able to persuade her that they didn't need to take their exams as they could arrange to take them either over the holidays or at the start of sixth year. "I'm not missing them."

"And you won't," Voldemort reassured his stubborn daughter. "We move the night of the final exam. That afternoon, one of you will activate the cabinet and myself and a selected group of my Death Eaters will use it to enter Hogwarts. We'll then lie low until dinnertime, where we will make a surprise entrance. Hermione, you have the cabinet somewhere with plenty of room, haven't you?"

"Yes, it's in a large room on one of the upper floors," Hermione answered. "There'll be ample room for you to hide out for a few hours."

Voldemort nodded once before returning his attention to the plan of action. "When we enter The Great Hall, I have a spell prepared to stop Dumbledore and the Professors from attacking us. I will then challenge Dumbledore to a wizard's duel and inform him he has forty-eight hours to get the younger students out of the castle, before I return to deal with him personally. I will then give anyone who wants to join me a chance to do so. Draco, that's when I expect you and your friends to join me. It will also be when Hermione and Severus join me, lastly, I may add. We then depart, leaving Dumbledore and everyone else in shock."

"And then two days later, I activate the cabinet once again," Harry said.

"You do," Voldemort said with a nod. "We once again take Dumbledore, and whoever else is in the castle, by surprise. Before the fight, it's then time for Harry to reveal his true self. While Dumbledore's still reeling from the betrayal, I'll strike and bring him down."

"And the rest of the Order?" Hermione enquired.

"We'll deal with them as we see fit at the time," Voldemort replied with an unconcerned shrug. "My priority is Dumbledore and getting rid of him. Once he'd gone, we can take care of the rest of the Order over time. With Dumbledore dead, there's no-one to stop me taking control, and that is what I intend to do. We've already got Nott in place, and with Dumbledore's death he will usher through some changes at Hogwarts. And then next year, my daughter and grandson can attend school as their true selves. Does that plan meet with everyone's approval?"

Of course everyone loved Voldemort's plan, and the rest of the evening was spent discussing the changes that would happen after he'd killed Dumbledore. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that killing Dumbledore was going to change the wizarding world forever. In a few months, nothing would ever be the same again. The wizarding world was about to undergo a major change, and everyone enjoying an evening at Malfoy Manor couldn't wait for the changes to begin.


	27. Chapter 27

Leaning against the door frame of the living room in Severus's small cottage, Harry watched in amusement as his father nervously paced the floor Any minute now, Rosmerta was due to arrive to have dinner with Severus and Harry. In a few days she would be having dinner with the rest of the family, but tonight was especially to introduce her to Harry. Harry knew Severus had organised the meeting with him first, as it was important to him that his son and new girlfriend hit it off.

"You're going to wear a hole in the carpet if you keep pacing," Harry called as he pushed himself away from the door frame and entered the small but cosy living room.

"I hardly think so," Severus replied, and Harry could detect the nerves in his father's voice.

"I don't know, you've been pacing for at least ten minutes," Harry retorted. "Why are you so nervous, anyway?"

"Seriously?" Severus stopped his pacing and turned to face his son. "This is important to me, Harry. My future rests on how well this evening goes."

"How?" Harry asked with a frown. He knew it was important to his father that he and Rosmerta got along, but he didn't understand why his father was so worried.

"If things go badly tonight, I'll have to say goodbye to Rosmerta," Severus replied. "And I'm becoming rather attached to her."

"Are you saying you would end things if I don't like her?" Harry questioned in surprise.

"If the two of you don't hit it off, then yes, I will," Severus confirmed with a nod. "I may have fallen for Rosmerta, but you're my top priority, Harry. Any witch I get involved with, has to get along with you, or there's no future for us. You come first, and your happiness is more important than me own."

Harry was totally shocked by his father's confession, but before he had a chance to reply the floo network sounded and green flames appeared in the fireplace. Turning round, he saw his father helping a glamorous looking Rosmerta out of the fire. As he watched the pair greeting each other, Harry vowed to make sure he got along with his father's girlfriend. After being alone for so long, Severus deserved to be happy, and Harry was not going to be the reason his father was alone once again.

"Rosmerta, meet my son, Harry," Severus said, introducing his son to the witch in his life. "Harry, this is Rosmerta, my girlfriend."

"It's very nice to meet you properly," Harry said with a smile.

"You too, Harry," Rosmerta replied, scrutinising the boy she'd only ever seen in her pub before. "You know, there's something different about you," She mused. "I know, you're not wearing your glasses. Do you have new contacts?"

"I don't need glasses," Harry said with a chuckle. "I wear them to help keep people thinking I'm the son of James Potter. Without the glasses, I really resemble Dad."

Rosmerta looked between father and son, before nodding. "Wow, you really do. It's really amazing that no-one has made that connection. You really do look alike."

"It's surprising what people miss when they don't know all the facts," Harry replied with a shrug. "Put me in a pair of glasses and call me Potter, and everyone sees what they want to see. However, taken the glasses off and call me Snape, and people can see who I truly am."

"I take it you're going to revert to your father's name once the truth is revealed," Rosmerta remarked.

"I am," Harry replied with a nod. "I'm a Snape, and I can't wait for people to finally know that."

"Not a Riddle?" Rosmerta questioned, looking over at her partner. "Neither of you are taking your father's name?"

"Not even my father uses Riddle," Severus replied with a chuckle. "Snape may not be the name of my biological father, but it's the name of the man who raised me, and I'm proud to carry his name. Father understands why Harry and I are going to carry on using the name Snape."

"I suppose he does have someone else to carry on the family name," Rosmerta mused.

"Hermione?" Harry chuckled. "She's a Granger, like Beth. They don't use the name Riddle either. To be honest, I think my grandfather would be more likely to use the name Granger if he ever needed to. Although, I don't think Hermione will be a Granger for that much longer."

"What are you on about now?" Severus asked his son with a frown. "Why would Hermione be changing her name?"

"I don't suppose it will be happening in the next few years, but sooner or later she's going to become a Malfoy," Harry replied. "You know it as well as I do."

"A Malfoy?" Rosmerta frowned. "I'm not sure I understand."

"Hermione is dating Lucius and Narcissa's son, Draco," Severus supplied. "Although, I seriously doubt they're anywhere ready for marriage. Hermione is only sixteen, and Draco's still fifteen."

"I bet you anything they're married within a year of leaving Hogwarts," Harry replied with a confident grin.

Severus rolled his eyes at Harry, but he didn't refute his son's claims as he poured drinks for everyone. Handing Rosmerta and Harry their drinks, Severus grabbed his own and the trio sat down to carry on talking. Since the main point of the evening was for Harry and Rosmerta to get to know one another, Severus was happy to sit back and let the conversation flow between his son and girlfriend.

"I'll just and check on dinner, it should be about ready," Severus announced after ten minutes of polite chit-chat, during which Rosmerta had been asking plenty of questions to Harry in order to get to know him.

"You've made dinner?" Rosmerta asked in obvious surprise.

"Of course he hasn't, he actually likes you," Harry replied with a chuckle. "Seriously, Dad is a rotten chef."

"Beth kindly loaned me one of their elves," Severus explained. "She's currently whipping up a nice, edible meal for us."

"Which it wouldn't have been if Dad had cooked," Harry said as his father exited to check on the food. "Can you cook, Rosmerta?"

"I have been known to dabble in the kitchen," Rosmerta replied with a smile. "I'm no expert, but I do have a few specialities. You should taste my beef casserole and dumplings, it's lovely."

"I love dumplings," Harry said.

"I'll make it one time for you and your father," Rosmerta offered.

"I'd like that," Harry replied, giving his father's girlfriend a smile. So far, he was liking Rosmerta, and he couldn't see any reason why they couldn't end up being good friends.

When Severus returned, he announced dinner was ready so the trio moved into the small dining room to eat. As they ate, it was Harry's turn to get to know Rosmerta, and after asking her a bit about herself he turned his focus to her intentions towards his father.

"Harry," Severus hissed, not at all impressed when Harry had asked Rosmerta if she honestly saw a future to her romance with Severus.

"It's okay Severus, Harry has a right to want to know these things," Rosmerta reassured her boyfriend. "The truth is Harry, I can't predict the future. I love your father, and I very much hope we have a future together, but I can't guarantee that. I think we all know that the future is unpredictable, and you don't always know what's coming your way in life."

"But barring anything unforeseen, you see a future with Dad?" Harry checked.

"I do," Rosmerta confirmed. "And of course with you, Harry. Whatever happens between your father and I, I want you involved. This is as much your life as it is ours. I don't want you to think I'm trying to take the place of your mother, as I could never do that, but I do want us to be a family."

"I like the sound of that," Harry replied. "But just how big of a family do you see us becoming?"

"Harry," Severus scolded as his son's question caused Rosmerta's mouth to drop open in shock.

"What? I'm just trying to find out if I can expect any siblings," Harry said, giving his father an innocent look. "After all, you're both still young enough to have more kids."

"That is a question for the future," Severus said hastily. He and Rosmerta hadn't spoken about children, and he really didn't want to have that particular conversation with his son in residence. "Right now, we're all just getting to know one another."

"Will we all be moving in together?" Harry questioned, moving the topic away from children.

"Is that what you would want?" Rosmerta asked.

"As long as I still got to spend time at Grandpa's with him and Beth," Harry answered. "But yeah, I think it might be nice to have a new family home for the three of us."

"I'm sure that's something we can talk about in the summer," Rosmerta replied. "Although, I do think you're on the right track with finding somewhere new. It would be nice if we all made a fresh start in a place that ours, as opposed to either mine or your father's."

"You would leave the pub?" Severus asked in surprise. He knew just how much Rosmerta loved The Three Broomsticks, and he'd never really pictured her leaving the pub behind to move in with him and Harry.

"I don't have to live there to run it," Rosmerta replied with a shrug. "Unless of course, you don't want to live with me."

"There's nothing I'd like more," Severus said, smiling across the table at his girlfriend.

Harry rolled his eyes at the couple, but he couldn't help but smile at the same time. It was clear his father really loved Rosmerta, and it was equally clear that she loved him, and Harry found himself extremely happy for the couple. He hoped everything worked out for the pair, as it was clear his father had found the happiness he'd been missing since Lily's death nearly sixteen years ago. Finally, he was moving on, and Harry couldn't be happier for him.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

A couple of days after Harry had met Rosmerta, and given Severus his seal of approval, the rest of the family were preparing to meet her. The meeting had been set for Easter Sunday, and Beth had given the house elves instructions to make a roast lamb dinner with all the trimmings. Normally the Malfoys would have joined them for lunch, but this time it was purely family as Severus was introducing his new girlfriend to everyone. Besides, there was plenty of time for the Malfoys to get to know Rosmerta, in fact Narcissa had already asked Severus about them all having dinner together one evening when the teenagers went back to school.

After dinner with his father and Rosmerta at Severus's cottage, Harry had returned to his grandfather's house, so he was ready waiting with the rest of the family when Severus and Rosmerta arrived for lunch. When they arrived, Severus made the introductions, and Harry knew Rosmerta had impressed both Severus and Voldemort, when she didn't react any differently towards Voldemort. She greeted him just the same as she'd done Hermione and Beth. She certainly hadn't treated him as though he was the infamous dark wizard the whole wizarding world was talking about.

"It's very nice to finally meet you," Beth said. "We're all very happy Severus has found someone to share his life with."

"The feeling is mutual, Mrs Granger," Rosmerta replied. "I've been looking forward to meeting Severus's family."

"Please, call me Beth," Beth said. "After all, we're virtually family."

"Careful," Hermione whispered to Rosmerta. "Mum will be marrying you and Severus off before you can blink. She's always saying that my brother needs to settle down with a nice witch. Now he's got you, she won't let you get away."

"Luckily, I'm not planning on going anywhere," Rosmerta replied.

"So, do you think you'll marry Severus?" Hermione asked.

Rosmerta couldn't help but chuckle at Hermione's question. She very much reminded her of Harry, and the questions he'd asked her a few days previously. It was clear the pair were very much alike, and it was equally clear they were outspoken and weren't afraid to ask personal questions.

"If he asks," Rosmerta answered. "Would it bother you if I married your brother?"

"I haven't decided yet," Hermione answered honestly as she gave Rosmerta a serious look. "Harry likes you, and he thinks you're good for Severus."

"But you don't," Rosmerta said with a slight sigh. She'd known winning Harry over was essential to her future with Severus, but she also knew they would face problems if the rest of his family didn't take to her.

"I don't know you yet," Hermione replied with a shrug. "I'll let you know when I decide what I think of you and Severus."

Rosmerta was rather shocked by the young girl's forthrightness, but she quickly discovered she'd come by it honestly as Voldemort was just the same. No sooner had they settled down to eat than Severus's father started asking her questions. At first they were just general questions, about her pub and her life, but they soon ended up being about her stance on the ongoing battle between the light and dark.

"You're worried in case I don't support you," Rosmerta stated when Voldemort turned the subject to his bid for power in the wizarding world.

"It really doesn't matter if you support me or not," Voldemort said. "All I care about is that you love my son and aren't going to hurt him. I guess I'm just curious as to why you're willing to be with someone whose entire family is dark, when as far as I know, you've never had any connection to the dark arts."

"Just because the dark arts have never appealed to me, doesn't mean I can't understand their appeal," Rosmerta replied. "Personally, I'm not really sure what the big fuss is about practising dark magic, it's all magic, and even so called light magic can be dark if used in the right way. I also don't see how your beliefs about muggleborns, and what you're trying to do with the wizarding world, affect me. To be honest, it makes sense trying to separate our world from the muggle world."

"And here was me thinking you supported Dumbledore," Voldemort said with a low chuckle. "Looks like I was wrong."

"What gives Dumbledore the right to say what you're trying to achieve is wrong?" Rosmerta countered. "He may not agree, but that doesn't mean he's right and you're wrong. Sometimes, I think he's a very narrow minded man."

"He won't be a problem for long," Voldemort announced. "Will that be a problem for you? You may be able to deal with our ideals, but can you cope when things get nasty? It would be nice to believe we could achieve what we want without violence, but we all know that's not possible. Can you still stand by Severus knowing just what we're capable of to eliminate problems?"

"Maybe I'm just selfish, but yes, I can cope just fine," Rosmerta answered. "I love Severus, and whatever happens with Dumbledore and the Order, nothing can change that. I can put up with the darkness to be with the wizard I love."

Rosmerta was pleased when Voldemort nodded at her answer. Clearly she'd passed some sort of test, and he knew thought she was worthy of his son. Although, Voldemort wasn't the only one she'd impressed and Hermione leant across the table and gave her a smile.

"I've decided," She announced. "I like you, and I think you're going to be very good for my big brother."

"I'm pleased you approve," Rosmerta replied with a relieved sigh. It was clear Severus adored his little sister, and she suspected that had she not approved that Hermione could have proved quite a barrier in their romance.

"I may like you and approve of your romance, but don't think I'll just stand back if you hurt Severus," Hermione warned in a low voice that sent shivers down Rosmerta's spine. "As long as Severus is happy, I'm happy and I'm sure we can become good friends. However, if you hurt him, you'll regret it."

"I don't intend to hurt your brother," Rosmerta vowed.

Even though she was speaking to a teenager she had no doubt that Hermione meant what she said and could follow through on her threat. Severus's little sister could be a bad enemy to have, but luckily for Rosmerta, she wasn't planning on making an enemy of Hermione. Rosmerta planned on fitting right into Severus's family, and it was clear that as long as she stood by him and didn't hurt him that she would have no problems with them. Severus's family may have been dark, but they were also loyal and loving, and Rosmerta had a feeling she was going to fit in very well with them. It would be nice to belong to a loving family, and Rosmerta couldn't wait until she truly felt like part of the family.


	28. Chapter 28

As well as the family meeting Rosmerta, and welcoming her to the family, they also spent the Easter holidays going over their plans for infiltrating Hogwarts. Voldemort was especially keen for the three teenagers to know exactly what he expected of them, so the plan was gone over multiple times over the few weeks they were back at home. When plans weren't being discussed, Harry and Hermione spent some time with Draco, planning all the things they could do once Harry and Hermione got to drop their act in a few weeks' time.

As it turned out, Hermione got to spend slightly more time with Draco as Harry spent a few afternoons with Voldemort, going over the lessons he'd been taking from Dumbledore. Not that Harry minded, as he was loving the quality time he got to spend with his grandfather.

"I just wished I could help you more with the Order headquarters," Harry sighed as he and Voldemort sat in his grandfather's office. He was still annoyed that neither he nor Hermione could give Voldemort the location of the Order Headquarters, but Severus had explained that he also couldn't give Voldemort any information due to secrecy charms Dumbledore had erected around the place.

"I'm sure we can find a way around it if needs be," Voldemort replied. "Maybe there's something else you can remember about the house that will help us pinpoint its location."

"I don't really know," Harry said thoughtfully. "Hermione might be more help, she notices things more than me. I just kept wanting to get out of there. It was a pretty old fashioned house. To be honest, I felt sorry for Sirius having to grow up somewhere that depressing."

"Black grew up in the house?" Voldemort questioned, a sly smirk appearing on his face.

"Yeah, that's what he told me," Harry said.

"Then we've got it," Voldemort crowed triumphantly. "I'm sure Narcissa knows where Black grew up, and if not, Bella might know."

"Of course," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Why didn't I think of this earlier? I'm so stupid at times."

"You're not stupid, Harry," Voldemort insisted. "Besides, you were the one who mentioned Black growing up in the house. We never would have got there without you."

"So what happens when you know where Sirius grew up?" Harry asked. "Will you be attacking headquarters?"

"I've got no plans to do so at the moment," Voldemort answered. "Right now, my focus is on Hogwarts and dealing with Dumbledore. But it could be handy to have the info about the Order headquarters in our pocket for when we need it. But enough about that, let's refocus our attention on these pathetic lessons Dumbledore's been giving you."

Harry nodded, and turned his attention back to what they'd been discussing earlier. So far they'd gone over what Dumbledore knew about Voldemort's past, which thankfully didn't include Severus, Beth or Hermione. Voldemort was pleased to know that Dumbledore hadn't stumbled upon his family, but he agreed with Harry that it was a good thing that they were getting rid of him before he did manage to discover more than was healthy.

"And he has no idea how many Horcruxes I have?" Voldemort questioned.

"No, he's clueless on that," Harry confirmed. "Although he did mention he has some ideas on some things you might have used. But he hasn't told me about them yet."

"It doesn't matter," Voldemort said with a shrug. "I know for a fact there's one thing he'll never guess, and even if he guesses the others, there's no way he can find them all."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked with a frown. He didn't want his grandfather to get over confident and for everything to fall apart.

"I'm sure," Voldemort replied. "My Horcruxes are well hidden, and as I said, one of them he won't know about because he doesn't know about Beth. Besides, he won't have time to find them all before we dispose of him."

"But what if he tells someone else?" Harry asked.

"I thought you said he told you these lessons were just between the pair of you, and he was telling you things he hadn't told another soul?"

"He did, but what if he changes his mind?"

"You worry too much, Harry," Voldemort said with a chuckle as he smiled affectionately at his grandson. "We're in control here. Dumbledore doesn't know enough to hurt us, and soon he'll be gone and his knowledge will die with him."

"One things that won't die with him is the prophecy," Harry pointed out. "All the Order know about it, and I bet he's shared his theory about what it means with them all as well."

"We can blow his theory out of the water with the revelation that you're Severus's son," Voldemort said.

Voldemort had actually seen the prophecy courtesy of Bernard Nott, but he'd still been pleased when Harry had told him Dumbledore's interpretation of it. It was handy to know what the old man was thinking, and like his grandson, Voldemort thought Dumbledore was interpreting it to his own liking and he was squeezing Harry into the role of saviour because he'd already decided that was who was going to stop him.

"What if the Order try and put someone else into the prophecy?" Harry asked.

"It won't matter," Voldemort answered with a shrug. "One important line says I will mark this person as my equal, and I've never marked anyone like that. All I have to do is make sure I don't mark anyone during this battle at Hogwarts, or at any other time. Then there's no-one to fulfil this prophecy."

"I like that," Harry said with a nod. "I like the idea that there's no-one who can defeat you."

"You and I both, Harry," Voldemort chuckled. "Now back to these lessons. You're going to have to keep me updated with what he's teaching you when you go back to school. And if you can, try and figure out how he worked out I was even making Horcruxes."

"Maybe someone told," Harry suggested.

"Maybe," Voldemort mused. "But I only ever confided in people I trusted, like Beth, your father and Lucius and Narcissa. I just don't know how Dumbledore got onto me."

"I'll find out," Harry vowed.

"I always knew I could count on you, Harry," Voldemort said with a smile. "You're proving to be quite an asset, and I see big things your future. You can rule the world if you want to."

"I'd have to beat Hermione to it," Harry joked. "And we both know how ambitious Hermione is. Not to mention ruthless."

"She is that," Voldemort said with a fond smile. "My little girl is a lioness, and woe betide anyone who gets in her way."

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

All too soon the Easter holidays were over and it was time for Harry, Hermione and Draco to head back to school. The last few days of the holidays had been spent at the manor, enjoying themselves before a busy couple of weeks. Once they got back to school, they would have exams looming, plus for Harry and Draco the final quidditch match of the season was between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and the winner would win the quidditch cup. Then once all that was over, it would be time for Voldemort to make his move and it would be the beginning of the end for Dumbledore.

It wasn't until they reached the station on the day they were heading back to school that Hermione remembered that Ron had gone storming off on the way down from Hogwarts. She was hoping he would still be mad so that she and Harry could enjoy the ride back to school in peace, but she wasn't counting on it. As it was, they'd barely arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters before Molly was rushing over to them, Ron and Ginny trailing behind her as the twins headed off to find their friends.

"Harry, did you have a nice holiday?" Molly questioned, sweeping Harry into a bone crushing hug.

"I did," Harry replied as he extracted himself from Molly's grasp.

"Good," Molly said with a smile.

Harry sensed she wanted to say more, but before she could bombard him with questions, he turned and thanked Beth for walking him through the station, acting as though he'd just ran into Hermione and her mother up in the muggle part of the station.

"It's always a pleasure, Harry," Beth said.

"You'll not need to be doing that much longer, Harry," Molly said. "From now on, no more traipsing through the muggle way. We did it once, and it was horrendous."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Molly's admission that she'd only ever used the muggle entrance once, which was what he'd expected the time he'd ran into them in first year. However, he didn't say anything as Beth gave Molly a cold stare, her muggle act perfectly in place as she acted offended by Molly's slight about the muggle entrance.

"I should be going, Hermione," Beth said, turning to her daughter. "Make sure you write, and good luck on your exams."

"Hermione, doesn't need luck, she's the brightest witch I know," Harry said, throwing his arm around his aunt, and smirking when Ron and Ginny exchanged annoyed looks. "She'll fly through her exams, and get the best results in our year."

"Do you really think so?" Hermione asked, playing coy as she looked up at Harry.

"I know so," Harry replied with confidence.

Beth chuckled at the pair and their antics, before she gave Hermione a peck on the cheek. Then, because Molly was watching them like a hawk, she swooped down and gave Harry a hug and also wished him luck in his exams. Thanking her, Harry returned the hug and gave her a friendly smile, something he hadn't done when Molly had smothered him in her arms.

By the time Beth had said her goodbyes, it was time for the train to be leaving and Molly didn't have another chance to grab Harry before he darted onto the train with Hermione. Ron and Ginny had followed the pair onto the train, and towards an empty compartment that Harry had spotted.

"Where's your cat, Hermione?" Ginny asked as the pair stowed their bags, but there was no sign of Crookshanks and his carrier.

"He's not well, so he's staying at home with Mum," Hermione answered. Crookshanks was actually at home because she didn't want him at Hogwarts when there could possibly be any violence. Besides, it was easier than trying to get him home before she left when her father made his grand entrance.

"I hope he gets better soon," Ginny said, before heading off to sit with her own friends.

"Are you joining us?" Harry asked Ron as Ginny made her exit but her brother continued to hover in the doorway.

"I don't think so," Ron answered, his gaze flicking over to Hermione before re-focusing on Harry. "I just thought I'd ask how things went with your rude uncle."

"Uncle Vernon?" Harry questioned with a frown.

"He was the rude man that picked you up, wasn't he?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, Uncle Vernon picked me up," Harry replied. "But what do you mean, how things went with him?"

"You did ask him about moving in with Sirius, didn't you?" Ron questioned.

"Oh, that," Harry said as understanding dawned on him. "Yeah, I talked to him about it."

"And?" Ron prompted.

"And he said yes," Harry replied.

For the first time that morning, Ron's face broke into a grin. "Cool. It will be so much better you living with Sirius. Mum said she thought your uncle was the rudest man she'd ever met."

"I've met ruder," Hermione muttered, just loud enough for Ron to hear.

"Yes, some people are very rude," Ron said pointedly, glaring at Hermione, before turning back to Harry. "Anyway, it's going to be great, Harry. We can see each other all the time in the holidays. I can't wait for this blasted year to finish. Then just think Harry, we'll have the entire summer before us."

"Great," Harry replied, mustering a fake smile for Ron.

"It will be," Ron vowed. "I'll see you later, Harry. I promised Neville I'd sit with him and teach him chess. Bye."

"Prick," Hermione grumbled as Ron disappeared and Harry slid the door shut behind him. "As if Neville needs to be taught how to play chess. He already knows how to play."

"Typical Ron, not bothering to even come up with a decent excuse not to sit with us," Harry said with a chuckle as he sat back down opposite his aunt.

"I don't know why he even needed an excuse," Hermione replied. "He's made his feelings towards me very clear. He might as well just of said that he didn't want to sit with me."

"Yeah, but then he might have thought I thought he was trying to make me choose between the pair of you, and he knows I would never choose him," Harry pointed out.

"Really?" Hermione gasped, pretending to be surprised. "You mean, you would put me before that ginger tosser?"

"You know I would," Harry replied with a laugh. "I'd put you above anyone."

"Ditto," Hermione said, smiling at her nephew.

"Don't lie," Harry snorted. "You would put me above almost everyone. We both know a certain blond would rank above me."

"Maybe," Hermione replied with a coy smile. "If he was being good."

"Where's the fun in good?" Harry asked with a smirk. "Bad is so much better."

Laughing, the pair settled back to enjoy one last train ride by themselves. Come the end of the year, neither of them would be on the train home, and by the time they went back to school for their sixth year, they'd be able to sit with Draco. Times were changing, and both Harry and Hermione were looking forward to the changes coming up.

* * *

 **A/N - Just to say that from next week, Children will be updated three times a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday.**


	29. Chapter 29

Back at school the fifth years immediately noticed a difference in their lessons. All of the Professors had once again reminded the students that their exams were coming up, and it was important that they made sure they took the time to study thoroughly. A lot of the Professors also pointed out that the marks they received in their O.W.L.S could affect which subjects they were able to take the following year.

For some people, the Professors timely reminder about exams sent them into a panic, but for Draco things carried on as normal. He wasn't worried about his exams as he knew he was on top of his school work. There was no subject he lagged behind in, and he was confident he could achieve good marks in the upcoming exams.

During the first week back at school, the Professors gave the students a list of things they would need to know for their upcoming exams, and a lot of the Professors announced they would be going over a lot of the work in the coming days. One of those Professors who'd decided they should run over a few things they should know was Slughorn, so during his long afternoon lesson he'd set up various potions and started quizzing the class on their knowledge.

"This is boring," Blaise whispered to Draco as the two Slytherins lounged at the back of the classroom.

Slughorn had gathered everyone around a few cauldrons at the front of the room, but Draco and Blaise had dropped back when it was clear neither boy was on the Potions Professors radar. It had become obvious very early on that Slughorn had his group of favourite students, and Blaise and Draco weren't amongst them. Draco had been dismissed as the son of a Death Eater as Slughorn had made it clear very early on that he had no time for Death Eaters. Blaise had originally been on Slughorn's radar, thanks to an uncle that had developed a famous potion, but once Blaise mentioned his side of the family was estranged from his uncle, Slughorn had dropped him as one of his favourites.

"Surely you don't want to be part of the 'Slug Club'," Draco retorted with a chuckle.

Slughorn even had a name for his favourite students, the 'Slug Club', and he encouraged them to meet up regularly. Draco didn't know how many students actually took him up on his offer of meeting up, but he knew a few that hadn't, including Hermione and Harry.

Both Hermione and Harry had been targeted by Slughorn during his first week at Hogwarts. Hermione's reputation as the top student, and brightest witch of her age had reached him, and obviously Harry's reputation as the Boy-Who-Lived preceded him. Then there was the fact Slughorn had taught Harry's mother, and he'd been a fan of Lily's. As well as Harry and Hermione being part of his favourite students, Theo had also made the cut as the Minister's son.

"I guess not," Blaise responded with a smirk as he watched Slughorn ask Theo a question he didn't know the answer to. "I never was a fan of being the teacher's pet."

"Who would want to be Slughorn's pet?" Draco snorted. "The man's a bore. Father said he was the same in his day. Always had his band of favourites, and not bothered about anyone else."

"Luckily we know our stuff and don't need him," Blaise said.

"We do," Draco agreed with a nod. "But at least it frees us up for more important things."

"Like what?" Blaise asked, wondering what else they were going to do in Potions other than school work.

"Quidditch," Draco answered with a grin. "We've got one more match against Gryffindor, and if we win that we win the cup. I was thinking we could try and organise some extra training sessions, and maybe come up with some new tactics."

"Count me in," Blaise replied, sharing Draco's enthusiasm to win the quidditch cup.

While Slughorn continued his lesson, only interested in the students he'd taken a shine to, Blaise and Draco sat at the back of the room quietly discussing quidditch. By the time the class was over, they were rather engrossed in their conversation and it took them a while to notice people packing up and leaving the classroom.

"Damn, was there any homework?" Blaise asked as the pair went over to their desk and began to pack their bags up.

"Not a clue," Draco replied with an unconcerned shrug. "We'll have to ask someone."

"You mean our friends, who've taken off and left us?" Blaise questioned, looking around the rapidly emptying room and finding a few dawdling Gryffindors and no Slytherins in sight.

"They could have at least said something," Draco muttered as the boys stalked out of the potions classroom.

"Hey, there's Daphne up ahead, we can ask her," Blaise said, pointing down the corridor to where Daphne was standing at the corner, clearly talking to someone.

Hurrying forward, the two boys reached Daphne just in time to witness her saying goodbye and sharing a tender smile with Harry. Draco smirked at his best friend took off in a hurry, while Blaise gazed at Harry's retreating form in surprise.

"Was that Potter?" He asked, even though he knew it was.

"Yes," Daphne replied. "I dropped my bag, and he kindly helped me pick up my books."

"I would help you pick up your books, if you smiled at me like that," Blaise said.

"I was merely being grateful," Daphne said as she started to walk away from the two boys.

"Sure you were," Blaise chuckled as he and Draco easily caught up with Daphne and fell into step beside her as they headed for the next lesson. "I think someone has a crush."

"Really? I wouldn't have thought Harry was your type," Daphne retorted, shooting Blaise a mischievous smirk. "Just wait until I tell everyone."

"I didn't mean that," Blaise muttered. "I meant, you had a crush."

"No, I don't," Daphne replied, but neither Blaise nor Draco bought her protestations. "Now are you bugging me for a reason?"

"We want to ask about homework in Potions," Draco said, jumping in before Blaise continued to tease Daphne and got her mad.

"What about it?" Daphne questioned with a frown. "It was fairly straightforward."

"What exactly was the homework?" Draco asked with a sheepish smile.

"I don't believe you two," Daphne scolded, giving the boys a glare that Draco thought could rival Hermione when she was mad. "Let's guess, you were sitting at the back, paying no attention."

"Well to be fair, Slughorn wasn't paying any attention to us," Blaise argued. "We're not in his precious 'Slug Club', so he's not interested in what we have to say."

Daphne had to agree with the boys in regards to Slughorn, and as they entered their next lesson she promised to make sure they both knew what the Potions homework was. Thanking Daphne, the pair settled down in their seats, and this time they paid attention during the class and got their own homework. However, the second the class was over, they headed off so Draco could book the quidditch pitch for extra practices.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

School had been back nearly two weeks before Harry received his first letter from Dumbledore, asking him to go to his office for a private lesson. Part of him had hoped that the lessons would have ceased in the light of the upcoming exams, but it would seem Dumbledore still had more to say. Although what it could be, Harry wasn't sure as he'd felt the last few lessons before Easter had been a bit flat, with the headmaster producing no new information. However, it wasn't wise for him not to honour his agreement with Dumbledore, so at the appropriate time, Harry set off for his lesson with the headmaster.

"Harry, I've got something very exciting for us to discuss this evening," Dumbledore greeted as he ushered Harry into his office. "But first, tell me about your holidays. Were you successful in persuading your uncle to let you move in with Sirius?"

"I was," Harry said with a nod. "Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia agreed it was probably for the best that I live in the wizarding world full time."

"Would you like me to arrange someone to go and get your belongings?" Dumbledore asked.

"No," Harry said quickly. "Uncle Vernon suggested I go home as normal at the end of the term, and pack up my stuff myself. It gives me a chance to say goodbye to the family. If someone could then come and pick me up after a few days, then that would be great."

"That can be arranged," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I'm sure Sirius will be thrilled when he finds out the news."

"I'm sure he will," Harry agreed.

"Now, onto our exciting news," Dumbledore said, swiftly changing the subject now he knew Harry was be safely ensconced with Sirius come the end of the term. "I've managed to get some memories from the very man who told Voldemort about Horcruxes. His memories give us our best clue about how many Horcruxes he has."

"Is this the person who led you to the fact Voldemort has got Horcruxes in the first place?" Harry questioned. Maybe this lesson wouldn't be quite as boring as the others, and maybe he would have something to report back to his grandfather.

"It is," Dumbledore admitted with a nod. "Of course, before it was a few veiled remarks, and I had to work things out myself. But now, I've persuaded him to hand over his memories in order to help the wizarding world."

Harry was eager to see whose memories he was going to view, but he had to be patient as Dumbledore got his stone pensive out of it's cupboard and placed it on his desk. He then took his time in emptying a couple of vials of silvery memories into the pensive. Finally it was time to go, and with a feeling of apprehension, Harry followed Dumbledore into the pensive to see what new information the headmaster had uncovered.

Harry was surprise to find the memories belonged to the new Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn, and they occurred back when his grandfather was in school. Even though he knew Slughorn was old, and had taught his parents, he didn't realise he was so old that he'd also taught his grandfather. He also didn't realise that Slughorn used to be the head of Slytherin. You would never guess it the way he treated Slytherins these days, as only a few of them had made the cut of the students he liked and coveted for his 'Slug Club'.

The memories consisted of a few conversations between Slughorn and Voldemort, all of them about Horcruxes. One of the conversations also dealt with the topic of the number seven being a powerful magic number, and Voldemort even asked if Slughorn thought a person whose soul was split into seven would be indestructible. Slughorn had admitted he hadn't been sure what the results of such an act would be, but he was clearly uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, so he had ended it. That also ended the memories, and Harry found himself back in Dumbledore's office.

"So what do you think?" Dumbledore asked.

"I think that was very interesting," Harry answered. He didn't want to give Dumbledore too much information, but he knew he would have to at least show some of what he'd supposedly picked up by viewing the memories.

"I thought so," Dumbledore agreed. "And did you notice the last conversation and the number seven?"

"I did," Harry confirmed with a nod. "I take it you think it means we're looking for six Horcruxes."

"That would be my best guess," Dumbledore said. "I've pinpointed the diary, the very diary he had with him in the first memory I might add. Did you also notice the ring he was wearing on his hand in the last memory?"

"Can't say that I did," Harry said. In actual fact he had noticed the ring, as it wasn't something he'd ever seen his grandfather wearing.

"I noticed it, and looking back at my own memories I found he only had it in his last year of Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained. "I've done some digging over the holidays, and I found it's a stone called the resurrection stone, made into a ring, and it once belonged to his mother's family, the Gaunts."

"Horcrux number two," Harry said.

"Indeed." Dumbledore nodded as he bestowed a proud smile on Harry. "And I think given his penchant for Hogwarts, we're looking for things once belonging to the founders as his other Horcruxes."

"Which brings us to six," Harry said, wondering if Dumbledore was right. Even though his grandfather had assured him that his Horcruxes couldn't all be found and destroyed, he hadn't confided what exactly they were.

"Or five, if we discount something belonging to Godric Gryffindor," Dumbledore corrected. "Let's not forget, Voldemort was a Slytherin, a Slytherin descended from Salazar Slytherin at that. His hatred for Gryffindors run deep, so he may not have used something once belonging to Godric. It's something for us to ponder during our next lesson. But for now Harry, try and see if you can find out anything about the founders. We may need the information."

Harry nodded, and even though he had no intention of finding something to help the headmaster, he promised he would do some research before saying goodnight and leaving Dumbledore's office.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

After Harry had left his office, Dumbledore sat for a long time, thinking about the mammoth task that lay ahead. While he would do everything he could to help Harry, he couldn't help but think they needed some more help. Maybe if he brought someone else in on what they were doing, they would find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes faster.

Knowing whoever he brought in on things had to care about Harry, and wouldn't push him into doing anything foolish, Dumbledore considered his options. Molly or Arthur were his first thought, but the couple were naturally cautious people and he wasn't sure if they would help Harry or try and persuade him to leave the task of tracking and destroying the Horcruxes for someone else. Sirius was his next thought, as Harry's new guardian, but Dumbledore wasn't sure if the wizard was a bit rash. Sirius had always had a wild streak, and his years in Azkaban had done nothing to calm him down. However, there was no doubting he cared about Harry, in fact he was probably the person who loved Harry the most in the entire world. Plus, there was always Remus to help keep Sirius grounded.

Deciding he needed to bring Sirius, and possibly Remus into things, Dumbledore set about creating a box of information about Voldemort's Horcruxes. He sorted vials of memories for Sirius and Harry to view over the summer, as well as several thick books about Horcruxes and dark magic. He also included extensive notes and his own thoughts on the Horcruxes, and packed them neatly in the box alongside the memories. At least now Harry and Sirius could get to work in the summer, meaning he had time to either work solo or deal with other things, like holding onto his job as headmaster.

Once the box was complete, he connected the floo in his office and headed to Sirius's house. Not only could he break the good news about Harry definitely moving in with him, but he could leave him with a box that the pair could delve into over the summer. It would certainly keep the pair from getting into trouble over the holidays, and it just might provide the breakthrough they needed. Maybe Sirius would notice something Dumbledore hadn't. You never know, Sirius could be the one to crack Voldemort's secrets and win the war for the light.


	30. Chapter 30

A very annoyed Draco let out a low growl of exasperation as he looked around the common room and found no sign of Blaise. In the last couple of days, his quidditch plans had all gone wrong, and he could do without his keeper being on the missing list. Initially everything had looked promising and Draco was confident that Slytherin could beat Gryffindor and win the quidditch cup. However, during the last practice one of his chasers had been blinded by the sun and had flown straight into one of the goalposts, knocking themselves out. Madam Pomfrey had then declared that there would be no more quidditch for the chaser in the next six weeks, meaning Draco had to find a replacement.

"Theo?" Draco called, heading over to where the rest of the team had gathered, ready to head down to the quidditch pitch for chaser try-outs. "Have you seen Blaise?"

"Not since this morning," Theo answered.

"He said he was going to the library," Vince offered.

"Now?" Draco questioned with a frown.

"No, just after breakfast," Greg answered.

"I can't see Blaise still being in the library," Theo said with a chuckle. "Breakfast was hours ago."

"I'll go and check it out," Draco said. "You guys can get down to the pitch and get things ready for the try-outs. We need to find a new chaser today, and they need to be good."

"Good luck with that," Theo chuckled. He'd made the team as a chaser, but the competition hadn't exactly been fierce. The three chasers that had made the team had been by far the best of the bunch, and Theo wasn't confident they could find someone of quality for the last match of the season.

"We will find someone," Draco insisted. "Even if I have to force every single Slytherin to try-out. I will find myself a new chaser."

Trusting the rest of the team to get themselves down to the quidditch pitch and get everything ready, Draco headed off in the direction of the library. He didn't really expect to find Blaise in the library, not when Greg had said he'd headed there after breakfast, but it was as good a place as any to start his search for his keeper.

Surprisingly, Draco did find Blaise when he entered the library. His friend was sitting at one of the small two person table with a pretty blonde witch. Draco didn't recognise the witch, but judging from the blue and bronze tie that was sticking out of her bag she was a Ravenclaw. And judging from the way Blaise was whispering in the blonde's ear, and the way she was giggling, there was some sort of romance bubbling between them.

"Blaise," Draco called, heading over to the pair.

"Hey Draco," Blaise replied, looking up. "Is it try-out time already?"

"Yeah," Draco answered as he subtly checked out the girl with Blaise. He still didn't recognise her, although for some bizarre reason she had what looked like little turnips in her ears in place of earrings. "Are you coming?"

"Of course," Blaise answered, before he turned to the blond girl and gave her a smile. "Sorry Luna, I've got to run."

"That's okay," Luna replied, returning Blaise's smile. "And thank you for your help Blaise, I really appreciate it."

"Any time," Blaise responded as he got to his feet. "I'll see you later, Luna."

"Okay," Luna said. "Good luck with quidditch."

"Thanks," Blaise said, giving Luna one more smile, before he finally turned back to Draco. "Come on Draco, let's go, we're going to be late."

Draco rolled his eyes at Blaise as his friend led the way from the library. "So who was the girl?" He asked once they were in the corridor.

"Luna," Blaise answered.

"Yeah, I got that part," Draco replied. "Who is she?"

"A fourth year," Blaise replied. "I'm helping her with Astronomy."

"It looked like you were doing more than studying," Draco remarked with a smirk. "You looked to be rather close."

"Yeah, Luna's nice," Blaise admitted with a smirk.

As Blaise told Draco how he'd befriended Luna the previous year, and how they were getting closer all the time, Draco wondered how he'd never noticed anything before. How had he never noticed that Blaise was spending all his spare time with Luna? Maybe because he spent all his spare time with Harry and Hermione, and he never questioned what his other friends did when he wasn't around. Silently, Draco decided that in future he would pay more attention to Blaise and his Slytherin friends. Just because Hermione was his girlfriend, and Harry was his best friend, didn't mean he had to neglect his other friends.

However, Draco's dramas with his friends would have to wait as he and Blaise reached the quidditch pitch. Over the last few days, Draco and the rest of the team had spread the word around the Slytherin dorms that they were in need of a new chaser, so plenty of people had turned up to try-out. There was even more people than at the original try-outs, and Draco suspected half of them had turned up because they wanted to be part of a winning team that could possibly win the quidditch cup.

"Okay, let's get going," Draco announced to the assembled group. "First, I want to see people's basic flying skills. If I decide you're not good enough, you won't go any further in the trials, and my decision is final."

With the help of the rest of his team, Draco began putting the hopeful chasers through their paces. A good quarter of them fell at the first hurdle, and as they continued the trials, more people fell by the wayside. It soon became clear that Draco had high expectations, and no-one was living up to them. Two hours later, Draco had rejected every candidate that had tried out.

"So what now?" Theo asked, as Draco said no to the last real contender. "We need to find someone, and you're being too picky, Draco."

"I am not being picky, I just want a perfect team," Draco protested. "If we're going to win the cup, we're going to have to have the best team."

"At this rate we won't have a team," Blaise pointed out. "You've rejected everyone, Draco. We're still a player short, and there's no-one left to try out."

"That's not quite true," A quiet feminine voice said from behind where the team were standing talking.

The team whirled around to see who had spoken, and found themselves looking at Daphne's younger sister, Astoria Greengrass. Astoria was a third year and Draco knew her through Daphne, but he'd never thought she was the quidditch type. Normally she was all dressed up, like the perfect little pureblood princess she was, but right now she cut a very different figure. Her blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail, and instead of her normal girlish clothes, she was wearing an athletic top and tight jogging bottoms. She was also holding onto a broom, which wasn't school issue.

"We're kind of busy here, Astoria," Theo said.

"I know," Astoria replied. "But I want to try out for the team."

Astoria's announcement was met by laughter from all of the team, bar Draco. A girl had never played on the Slytherin quidditch team, and they could hardly believe a third year girl was trying out for the team. Draco, however, was intrigued by Astoria and her ambition to join the team. He'd thought Astoria's only ambition was to get herself a husband and make a life for herself as a rich, trophy wife, but clearly he'd been wrong about the young witch. There was obviously more to Astoria than met the eye.

"Done," Draco said, bringing an immediate end to the laughter of his team.

"What?" Theo blurted. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly," Draco replied. "We need a chaser, and no-one else was good enough."

"And you think Astoria will be?" Blaise queried. "No offence Astoria, but you don't strike me as the sporty type."

"Looks can be deceiving, Blaise," Astoria replied with a shrug.

"Astoria's right," Draco said. "We're giving her a chance to prove herself. Come on then Astoria, show us your moves."

For the next fifteen minutes Draco and his team put Astoria through her paces. A couple of times, Draco felt the boys were been tougher on Astoria than they had been with the earlier contenders, but she handled everything that was thrown at her. There was definitely a hidden side to Astoria, and up in the air, she proved to be a talented chaser. Who knew the little spoilt girl was going to turn out to be the best chaser on display at the try-outs?

"So?" Astoria questioned the second her trial was over and the team were back on the floor.

"Welcome to the team, Astoria," Draco said with a grin. By this point even the other members of the team had been won round, and they all welcomed Astoria into the team.

"Thanks, I can't wait to tell everyone," Astoria enthused.

"Actually, I'd rather you didn't," Draco said with a sly smile. "If we can, I want to keep you under wraps until the big day against Gryffindor. Can you imagine the shock on their faces when they find out they're playing against a girl?"

"But half their team are girls," Astoria pointed out. "I'm hardly the first female quidditch player."

"No, but you're the first female Slytherin player," Draco pointed out. "Your appointment on the team is something they would never have seen coming. We can use their surprise to our advantage come match day."

"Fine," Astoria agreed with a nod. "But just so you know, I will not be using my sexuality to help the team out. I won't be flirting with the opposition, or anything like that."

"As if I would suggest such a thing," Draco replied, giving Astoria an innocent look.

However, Astoria wasn't fooled for a minute and she chuckled in response to the blond. "You're a Slytherin, Draco, of course you would suggest something so underhand. You want to win. So I do by the way, but I will not use the fact I'm a girl to gain an advantage. I don't need one, I'm a good player, and that's all I need."

"Fine, no underhand tactics," Draco agreed. "We're all good players, and if we concentrate on our games then we can beat Gryffindor. I'll organise another practice for next week and we can start gelling as a team. We've got just over four weeks before we face Gryffindor, and by then I want us to be a perfectly drilled unit. Is that understood?"

"Yes, boss," Theo replied, and his sentiment was echoed by the other players.

Dismissing the team, Draco set about tidying up the quidditch equipment. Blaise stayed with him to help and the pair talked some more about Luna as they worked.

"And what's her position on The Dark Lord?" Draco checked.

"I'm not sure, why?" Blaise asked with a frown.

"Because we're all going to have to pick sides," Draco explained, making sure he didn't mention just how soon the choice would have to be made. "And you don't want to be falling for someone on the opposite side of things."

"You mean like Daphne," Blaise said with a smirk. "We both know she's got a major crush on Potter."

"Daphne isn't my concern," Draco replied, not wanting to get involved in discussing Harry. "You are. Daphne's a friend, but you're a better friend. Besides, Daphne's smart. She won't switch sides for a boy."

"And you think I would?" Blaise asked.

"Maybe not for a boy, but you might for a girl," Draco replied with a smile, before he turned serious again. "I'm just looking out for you Blaise. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"And what makes you so sure I'll be on The Dark Lord's side?" Blaise questioned.

Draco was so stunned by his friend's question, he stopped and stared at Blaise. Even though they'd never really discussed Voldemort and their stance on supporting him, Draco had always assumed they were on the same page. He knew Blaise didn't have strong family ties to the dark, but he always thought his friend's loyalties lay with Voldemort and the dark.

"You should see the look on your face," Blaise laughed. "Of course I'm with The Dark Lord. As for Luna, I'm not really sure. She's a pureblood, so he'll have no problem with her, and she's got no real connections to the light side. From what I can see the Weasley girl flits in and out of her life, but they're not really friends. Little Red just shows up when she wants something."

"Typical Weasley then," Draco snorted, thinking about Ron and how he used to treat Hermione before their recent falling out. "So you think if push came to shove, she would be with us."

"I don't know," Blaise answered, giving Draco a calculating look. "But why all the fuss? Do you know something I don't?"

"I know a lot of things you don't, Blaise," Draco replied with a smirk. "I'm not in a position to say much, but I will give you one bit of advice. If you really like this Luna girl, find out where she stands sooner rather than later. And if she's sway-able, makes sure she sways with you."

"Something big is coming, isn't it?" Blaise questioned.

"I can't say," Draco replied. "But just be prepared Blaise."

"I will," Blaise vowed with a thoughtful expression on his handsome face. If he knew Draco, and he did, then something big was coming, and decisions were going to have to be made.

The rest of the tidying up was done in silence, and when they were finished Blaise disappeared into the castle. Draco suspected Blaise had gone off to find Luna, but he couldn't be sure. As he headed off to meet Hermione in their secret room in the library, he just had to hope his friend made the right choice. Hopefully he would either persuade Luna to join the dark, or he would leave her alone. The last thing Draco wanted was for Blaise to switch to the light. But it was his friend's choice, and he would just have to wait and see how things played out.


	31. Chapter 31

Since returning to school, Hermione's focus had been on her exams. She'd immediately settled down to do revision, and she'd had precious little time for spending with Harry and Draco. Of course she had made an effort to at least see Draco a couple of times a week, but they hadn't spent any real time together since they returned to school. However, Hermione wasn't too worried as she knew they would soon have plenty of time to spend together, but right now her focus was on her exams, the first of which she'd recently sat.

Hermione's focus remained firmly on her exams until the day of the quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Both teams had been preparing for the match for several weeks, and even though Hermione had been wrapped up in her revision it had been impossible for her to miss the excitement that was building up around the match. It seemed like everyone was looking forward to the match, even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were eager to see who would come out on top.

As usual, Hermione was torn about the match. After nearly five years she was a proud Gryffindor, and wanted the team to do well. And of course, she wanted Harry to do well as the team's seeker. However, she felt a connection to Slytherin, and wanted them to perform well. Then there was Draco to consider. She always liked him to do well, and she knew just how much winning the quidditch cup in his first year as captain meant to him.

Hermione still didn't have any idea who she truly wanted to win the match as she joined the other Gryffindors in the stands. The best thing with Ron being on the team meant she didn't have to put up with him in the stands, but she did still have Ginny to contend with as the young girl settled herself down in between Hermione and Neville.

"Isn't this thrilling?" Ginny enthused. "And just think, next year I might be on the team. Won't that be great?"

"Yeah, great," Hermione replied without enthusiasm.

As always, Ginny was oblivious to Hermione's lack of interest, and she continued to gush about the upcoming match. Ginny's excitement just got greater as the Gryffindors entered the stadium to rapturous applause. Once the applause had died down, the Slytherins entered the stadium, to slightly less enthusiasm. Quickly the applause they were receiving started to dwindle, replaced by gasps of shock.

"Is that a girl?" Ginny gasped as the Slytherins gathered in the centre of the pitch for one last team talk.

"It looks like it," Hermione replied, scrutinising the pretty blonde girl on the team and wondering who she was. She looked vaguely familiar, but right at the moment she couldn't put a name to her face.

"What is a girl doing on the Slytherin team?" Ginny asked with a frown.

"I did hear they lost one of their chasers during training," Dean supplied. "The girl must by the replacement player."

"But girls never make the Slytherin team," Ginny argued. "It's unheard of."

"You've got to hand it to Malfoy, he knows how to throw things into disarray," Neville said. "Look at the Gryffindor team, they looked totally shell-shocked."

Hermione turned her attention to the Gryffindor team, and found Neville was right. The team were having their team talk, but they kept looking over at the Slytherins, shock evident on their faces. Even Harry looked stunned by events, so Hermione was guessing that Draco hadn't confided in him about his new chaser.

"I wonder if she's any good," Ginny mused as the teams took to the air.

"We're about to find out," Hermione replied as she watched Draco and Angelina shake hands.

Seconds later Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the game got under way. As the game started, Hermione found out who the mystery witch was when Lee, the official match commentator, mentioned her name as Astoria Greengrass. All of a sudden, Hermione understood why she looked to familiar. Astoria looked quite like her older sister Daphne, and Hermione was surprised that she hadn't immediately picked up on the resemblance.

"She's good," Seamus said as Astoria scored the first goal, breezing past Ron without a problem from the redhead.

"More like Ron's distracted, the idiot," Ginny snorted. "Look at him, he's practically drooling whenever she goes near him. He's going to lose us this match, I just know he is."

"I doubt the match will be won or lost based on goals scored," Dean commented.

"Yeah, very few matches are decided that way," Seamus agreed. "Besides, our chasers are as good as theirs."

"Yeah, but their keeper isn't distracted by a pretty face," Ginny grumbled, right as Blaise spectacularly saved a goal attempt from Alicia.

When Blaise then saved another three goals in quick succession, while Slytherin scored another couple, worry began to spread around the Gryffindors. Suddenly everyone was worried that Ginny was right, and Ron's distraction was going to cost them the match.

"Let's hope Harry is more on the ball," Dean said, searching the stadium until he spotted Harry over the other side of the ground.

Hermione also turned her attention to Harry, and spotted Draco was nearby. For a while she watched the pair circle the stadium, as down below them several more goals were scored by both teams. However, Slytherin still maintained a healthy lead as Ron was doing an abysmal job as a keeper.

"This is ridiculous," Ginny shouted as Ron let in yet another goal as Slytherin continued to build their lead. "If Ron lets in many more goals, even Harry catching the snitch won't win us the match."

"We've just got to hope we can score a few more goals," Neville remarked.

Sadly, even though Gryffindor did manage to score a few more goals over the next twenty minutes, Slytherin scored more. Before too long their lead was so great that even catching the snitch wouldn't win them the match.

"Malfoy has the snitch in his sights," Dean suddenly yelled, as the blond went flying past them at top speed.

Harry was hot on Draco's heels and Hermione watched in fascination as the two boys went soaring towards the ground. As the two seekers did battle, the Gryffindors speculated what Harry was going to do. Even if he caught the snitch, Gryffindor would still lose the match.

"Does he even know we're so far behind?" Dean questioned.

"He has to know," Seamus replied. "Surely he knows."

"I don't know, it looks like he's going for the snitch," Ginny said in horror as Harry and Draco were neck and neck down near the ground.

"He wouldn't," Neville said with a shake of his head. "He has to know it won't be enough."

"Maybe he's just going to distract Malfoy," Ginny said hopefully. "All he has to do is stop Malfoy getting his hands on it until we can claw back some of the deficit."

Tearing her eyes away from her boyfriend and nephew, Hermione glanced over to the score and found Slytherin had scored a few more goals. Gryffindor had also scored another goal, but it still wasn't enough to close the gap between the two teams. With a firmer grasp of the score, Hermione returned her attention to the two seekers, and found Draco's fingers were inches away from the snitch that was skimming the grass at the bottom of the stadium.

"No," Ginny cried as Harry lunged forward, clearly trying to knock Draco's hand away from the snitch. However, as he succeeded in moving Draco's hand he somehow managed to grab the wing of the snitch, ending the game.

"Harry Potter has caught the snitch," Lee announced in a shocked voice.

Lee's shock was echoed all over the stadium, including in the air. Harry was still flying, although his attention was rooted to his hand, where he was looking at the snitch in horror. The rest of the Gryffindor team had frozen mid action, and were taking in what had just happened. Even the Slytherins looked stunned, and Draco was still flying next to Harry, looking between the pair wondering how the snitch had ended up in his best friend's hand rather than his.

"Slytherin win the match," Lee continued. He still sounded shocked, but Hermione suspected his announcement was the result of McGonagall giving him a swift elbow in the side to get him back to his job.

Lee's announcement seemed to bring the Slytherins at least back to life, and as the team started to converge back on the ground in the middle of the pitch, their fellow house mates began to cheer. Still rather stunned by events herself, Hermione watched as the Slytherin team gathered in the centre of the pitch. She watched as Draco congratulated every member of the team, although she was less than impressed when Astoria threw her arms around Draco and gave him a peck on the cheek. To her boyfriend's credit, he immediately got Astoria off him, but Hermione still wasn't happy with the young girl's actions. It looked like when the truth emerged, Pansy wouldn't be the only one getting a warning to keep her hands to herself.

"I just don't believe it," Ginny whispered as the shell-shocked Gryffindor team also gathered back on the ground.

"I don't think Harry can believe it either," Neville said. Harry was still staring at the snitch in his hand as though he didn't understand how it got there.

"It was just a mistake," Seamus said with a shrug. "He clearly wasn't trying to catch the snitch, you could tell that. Malfoy was obviously closer to it than he appeared, and when Harry knocked his hand out of the way he ended up catching the snitch."

"Poor bloke," Dean said sympathetically. "He's cost Gryffindor the cup, and it's not even his fault."

"No, Harry hasn't cost us the cup," Hermione snapped. "There are seven players on that team, and they all have to take responsibility. I will not let people push the blame on Harry."

"Hermione's right," Ginny agreed with a nod. "Harry's not the only one to blame. Ron let in far too many goals, and our chasers didn't score enough. Face it, we were outplayed."

"But at least Harry can say he beat Malfoy," Neville said with a slight grin. "That's something to be pleased about."

"Yeah, I guess it is," Dean replied, giving Neville a grin of his own. "Let's get down there and make sure Harry knows no-one is blaming him."

Hermione was more than happy to join the group as they headed down to the pitch. When they arrived on the pitch, the Slytherins were taking up half of the pitch with their celebrations, and it looked as though they'd been joined by half of their house. The Gryffindor team were over the other side of the pitch and when Hermione and the others arrived, they could see words were being exchanged by the team. As they approached, it was clear the team were proportioning blame for the loss.

"This is not my fault," Ron yelled, just as Hermione and the others reached them.

"Who was it that let in the most goals any team have scored this year?" Fred retorted. "Face it Ron, you were pathetic today."

"You did rather let the Greengrass girl distract you," Alicia said diplomatically.

"I did not," Ron shouted. "I was not distracted by that floozy."

"Please, you were practically drooling the entire match," George snorted. "You were a waste of space."

"As opposed to you two, that did nothing," Ron accused, glaring at his two brothers. "I didn't see either of you contributing."

"We did our job," George said. "It's not our fault we lost."

"It's Harry's," Ron announced. "If you want to blame anyone, look at him."

"Why me?" Harry demanded. He had been standing by not wanting to get involved, but he wasn't going to say nothing when Ron passed the buck to him.

"You were the idiot that caught the snitch before we could win the game," Ron replied.

"You're the idiot that put us in that position by letting in so many goals," Harry shot back. "Don't accuse me of losing this game, not when you have nothing to be proud of yourself."

"Stop it," Angelina called, stepping in between her warring team. "We can all blame someone else, but we all need to look at our own actions. Yes, Harry shouldn't have caught the snitch, but he didn't do it deliberately. Ron shouldn't have let as many goals in, but again he didn't do it on purpose. Katie, Alicia and I should have scored more goals, but it wasn't through lack of effort. Today just wasn't out day, and fighting about it won't do anyone any good."

"It just would have been nice to go out on a high," Fred said with a sigh. "I guess it's not to be."

"Not this year," Angelina agreed. "We just have to hope the next generation can turn things around and bring the cup back home next year. We've done all we could today, and in general we've had a good season. I say we go back up to Gryffindor Tower and have one last celebration. I don't know about anyone else, but I've been honoured to be on this team for the past few years, and I don't want to go out with an argument. Let's end things the right way."

As the team agreed with her, Hermione watched Angelina with admiration. She knew the witch must be so disappointed to end the season on such a low note, but she hadn't let her personal feelings cloud her actions. Instead of blaming some other members of the team for their loss, she'd rallied them together and ended what could have been a nasty argument. Angelina was a good captain, and at that moment Hermione felt sorry that Gryffindor hadn't pulled off a win for her.

With the team fight averted, they headed off to change while the others turned to go back up to the castle. It wasn't until they turned to leave that Hermione realised that the Slytherins were gone as well. Hermione was disappointed by their departure as she'd been wanting to try and catch Draco and congratulate him on his teams win. She knew they wouldn't be able to spend any real time together as he would be in demand down in the dungeons, but she had hoped to catch a few minutes with her boyfriend.

Hermione did look around in case Draco was hanging around, but she saw no sign of the blond Slytherin. Slightly behind the others, she headed back up towards the castle. However, just as she entered the door at the back of the castle, she was grabbed from the side and dragged into a nearby empty classroom.

"What the hell?" She demanded as she whirled on her attacker, wand in hand, the second his hands were off her.

"Easy, Hermione," Draco laughed. "I just wanted to say hello."

"Damn, you scared the life out of me," Hermione muttered as she pocketed her wand.

"Sorry, but I wanted to catch you before I went down to the dungeons," Draco apologised. "Chances are I'll be stuck down there all night."

"And rightly so," Hermione replied with a smile as she stepped into Draco's arms. "You are the winning quidditch captain. So captain, how does it feel to win the quidditch cup?"

"It would feel better if I'd actually caught the snitch," Draco admitted. "I feel as though I personally lost but the team still won. It makes celebrating pretty odd."

"I suppose it does," Hermione conceded. "But just imagine what it's like for Harry. He caught the snitch, and still lost."

"He's not being blamed for the loss is he?" Draco checked with a frown. "Because it wasn't deliberate. He didn't mean to catch the snitch. He was just trying to stop me and grazed it by mistake. I don't know who was more shocked, him or me."

"No-one's blaming Harry," Hermione said. "Well apart from Ron, but I think he's just trying to distract people from his own terrible game."

"Yeah, he was worse than usual," Draco chuckled. "I wonder what distracted him."

"As if you don't know," Hermione snorted in reply. "And Ron better be the only one getting distracted by Astoria. She looked to be pretty hands on after your win."

Draco grinned wickedly at Hermione as he wrapped his arms firmly around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Are you jealous?"

"I don't do jealously," Hermione replied with a roll of her eyes. "But I'm just warning you to stay away from Astoria, or Pansy, or any other girl that takes a shine to you. You're mine, and I don't share."

"I don't want to be shared," Draco said seriously. "All I want is you. I'm not interested in any other witch."

"As long as it stays that way," Hermione said, before she leant forward and captured Draco's lips with hers.

"It will," Draco vowed as they parted. "And just so you know, the same goes for you. If I'm yours, then you're mine, and I also don't share."

"Then we're the perfect pair," Hermione replied with a smile, before they reconnected their lips in another heated kiss.

Several minutes, and several kisses later, the pair reluctantly went their separate ways. They still had an act to keep up for a few more weeks, but soon there would be no more hiding. Soon they could face the world together, and everyone would know that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were a couple not to be messed with.


	32. Chapter 32

After the final quidditch match of the season, the exams really began to come thick and fast. There had been a couple of written exams before the final match, but all the practical exams and the majority of the written exams were due to take place once the quidditch was over for the season. All the written exams took place in The Great Hall, with assigned seating and a couple of Professors monitoring every exam. Practical exams were arranged differently with the students gathering in an empty classroom beside the Great Hall, and then going into the Great Hall in small groups to take their practical exam which were supervised by a team of outside modulators.

For a couple of week's exam fever gripped Hogwarts, with the fifth and seventh years taking things much more seriously. Of course, every student had end of year exams, but only the fifth and seventh years had exams that could affect the rest of their lives. The grades of the seventh years would help them get a job after leaving Hogwarts, or in the fifth year's case, help them determine what sort of classes they could take the following two years.

The first few weeks of exams were the most hectic and stress inducing, but as the end few weeks dawned, the amount of exams each day being taken lessoned. By the last few days only a small handful of students had exams. All the main subjects had been dealt with first, and the final exams dealt with the elective subjects.

The last exam to take place was the fifth years Divination written test, meaning Draco and Hermione had finished their exams before Harry. However, Hermione decided that the exam was the perfect cover for her to activate the vanishing cabinet. She made sure she informed Severus of the plan, so that he could make sure her father was ready to go on the correct afternoon.

On the afternoon in question, Hermione walked Harry to the Great Hall as he prepared to take his final exam.

"Good luck," She said, giving her nephew a peck on the cheek.

"You too," Harry replied. He knew what Hermione was planning on doing, and while he wished he could be there with her as she activated the cabinet, he understood that in order for everything to be in place for that evening they had to move now.

Hermione gave Harry one final hug, before she watched him enter the Great Hall. With Harry settled in his last exam, she carefully made her way up to the secret room. Luckily most people were outside celebrating the end of the exams, so no-one asked her why she was creeping around the castle. When Hermione reached the secret room, Draco emerged from a nearby alcove, throwing Harry's invisibility cloak off himself and tucking the map into his pocket.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked in surprise when Draco revealed himself.

"Just thought I'd come and keep your company," Draco replied. "Harry gave me the invisibility cloak and the map so I wouldn't be caught."

"And what about your friends?" Hermione asked with a frown. She thought it had been decided that she would sort the cabinet so that Draco and Harry had solid alibis for the time the Death Eaters entered the castle.

"They won't miss me for a little while," Draco answered with a shrug. "I'll re-join them later. Besides, no-one is going to know your father and his followers have entered the castle this afternoon. Everyone will be thinking they've arrived just before their big entrance at dinner."

"I suppose so," Hermione conceded. "But if this takes a while, you can leave and go back to your friends."

"Fine," Draco replied, even though he had no intention of leaving Hermione alone to handle the cabinet.

Checking there was no-one around, Hermione walked up and down in front of the wall, summoning the door. The second the door appeared, Hermione pulled it open and she and Draco darted through and into the large junk room.

"This place is so dusty," Draco said with a sneeze as he and Hermione lit up a few lamps on the walls.

"I think some of this stuff must have been here for decades," Hermione remarked as she walked the well-trodden path to where the cabinet was situated. "Come on Draco, help me move this bookcase."

Draco hurried over to his girlfriend and helped her push aside the bookcase they'd been using to stand in front of the vanishing cabinet. They also cleared another few bits and bobs from in front of the cabinet, until there was a small, clear path between the cabinet and the rest of the room.

"Okay, let's hope this works," Hermione said as she stepped forward and opened the cabinet.

From her pocket she pulled out an apple, and settled it on the bottom of the cabinet. She then shut the cabinet door and rubbed the handle three times. The cabinet emitted a faint glow, which according to Severus meant the item in the cabinet had been transferred. Hermione waited until the glowing had subsided before she pulled open the door and found the apple was missing.

"What now?" Draco asked. He wasn't quite sure of the plan, so he wasn't sure if they were expecting Voldemort and his Death Eaters now or in a short while.

"We wait for the apple to come back," Hermione replied as she shut the door. "That's the signal to begin. Once we've got the apple back, Father and his Death Eaters will be coming through after it."

"How long will that take?" Draco asked as he whipped out his wand to dust an old armchair chair, which he promptly sat down on.

"I'm not sure," Hermione replied as she moved over to Draco and settled herself on his lap. "The apple was a signal that someone was here waiting. We now just have to wait until Father is ready."

Wrapping his arms around Hermione, Draco slumped back on the chair as they waited for Voldemort to make the next move. Soon Voldemort and his Death Eaters would be in the castle, but for now it was a waiting game.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

In one of the ground floor rooms at Malfoy Manor, Voldemort and Lucius had set up the vanishing cabinet. Since the cabinet needed to be operated from someone at the end where the travellers were going from, it had been decided that Narcissa would be in charge at the manor, while Lucius went through the cabinet along with Voldemort and Beth. Of course the three weren't going alone, and Voldemort had arranged for a handful of his most trusted men and women to accompany them. They weren't exactly going to Hogwarts mob handed, as they would be in a few days' time, but they were going with enough of a presence to worry Dumbledore.

Among those ready to accompany Voldemort were the Carrow siblings, Crabbe and Goyle, the Lestrange brothers, and Bellatrix. Beth was not happy about Bellatrix going with them, but Voldemort had been amendment that she would be a valuable asset to them. While some of his followers, like Lucius, would be wearing their robes and mask, Bellatrix would be going without any disguise so that Dumbledore could see they had dangerous people on their side.

"I still don't see why she has to be here," Beth muttered to her husband as everyone began to gather and Bellatrix was preening as though she was something special.

"I've told you dear, Dumbledore will be wary if he sees her with us," Voldemort explained.

"He should me more wary about some other people," Beth retorted. "We've got people far more dangerous than Bellatrix."

"You know that, and I know that, but Dumbledore doesn't," Voldemort argued. "Believe me, he will see Bellatrix as a threat." Giving his wife a kiss, he headed over to check with Lucius that everyone had arrived and everything was in place.

"He's not the only one," Bellatrix snickered from where she'd been standing nearby listening to the conversation.

"What are you on about now, Bella?" Beth asked with a sigh, noticing the other witch was so close by for the first time.

"I'm on about Dumbledore not being the only person who sees me as a threat," Bellatrix replied with a smirk.

"And who else would see you as a threat?" Beth asked, shooting Bella a look of contempt.

"You, my dear," Bellatrix cackled. "You're clearly worried that I'm going to take your husband from you."

"As if," Beth snorted. "You couldn't steal my husband even if you gave it your best shot, Bella. He was never interested in you, we both know that. Even if I wasn't around, he wouldn't go anywhere near you."

"I guess we'll find out one day, won't we?" Bellatrix smirked.

Beth let out a low snarl as she advanced on Bellatrix, pinning the other witch to the wall before she had a chance to react. "Was that a threat, Bella?"

"No, it was a promise," Bellatrix hissed back. "Mark my words, one day your husband is going to be mine."

"Never," Beth replied, putting pressure on Bellatrix's neck and choking the other witch slightly. "You better watch out Bella, your days are numbered. My husband might think you're useful, but I don't. At the first opportunity, I'm going to take you out."

"You won't go against The Dark Lord," Bellatrix said, sounding and looking rather nervous as Beth increased the pressure on her throat.

"Watch me," Beth said with a chilling smile. "I can take you out in a battle, and no-one will be any the wiser. And no-one will miss you, Bella. Not your husband, not your sister, and certainly not The Dark Lord."

"You're bluffing," Bellatrix muttered.

"Am I?" Beth raised an eyebrow at Bellatrix before she slowly backed away from the other witch. Leaving Bellatrix rubbing at her throat, Beth turned and headed over to where her husband was talking with Lucius.

"Interesting talk?" Voldemort asked, giving Beth a mischievous smile.

"Just reminding Bella who's boss," Beth replied with an innocent look, which made Lucius chuckle.

"Bella always did need keeping in line," Lucius remarked. "That's why Rodolphus has no control over her, he's not strong enough to handle her."

"A strong woman doesn't need handling," Beth argued. "She just needs the right man to keep up with her. Isn't that right, dear?" She asked, turning to Voldemort with a smirk.

"Of course," Voldemort replied, sharing an amused look with Lucius. They both had strong wives, and knew Beth was right about them not needing controlling. Neither of them controlled their wives, they treated them as equals and as such they both had very happy marriages. "But are you keeping Bella in line?"

"For now," Beth replied with a shrug. "Have we had any word from Hermione yet?"

"Not yet," Voldemort replied, un-fazed by his wife's rapid change of subject. There was something she wasn't telling him, but he trusted her not to act too rashly and cause unnecessary trouble with Bellatrix.

"But it is still early," Lucius said as he checked the time. "The last exam is only just starting. We should hear from her quite soon."

Soon turned out to be nearly ten minutes later, when the cabinet lit up and Voldemort opened the door to reveal an apple sitting at the bottom of the cabinet. Plucking the apple from the cabinet, he turned to address his band of Death Eaters.

"Shortly we shall be leaving for Hogwarts, where my daughter awaits," He began. "We will gather in the room where we arrive, and wait for dinner time. Once everyone is settled in the Great Hall we will make our move. A small group will go through the ante-chamber, cutting off the back exit, while the rest will stay with me at the front doors. Remember, I want no violence. This is just a friendly chat. I have a spell to immobilise the staff and students, and it will only lift when someone wants to join us. You all have several port-keys on you. Once we've got students joining us, you can start sending them back to the manor using the port-keys, which just need activating. While the students are leaving, none of you are to leave. We all leave together when I say so. Is that understood?"

Replies of 'Yes, My Lord', filtered through the room. After reminding them that neither his daughter nor Draco, were to be sent off with the other students, Voldemort turned back to the vanishing cabinet. Placing the apple back into the cabinet, he sent it back to his daughter so she knew they were coming.

"I want people to go through slow and steady," Voldemort explained to Narcissa, who was standing beside the cabinet. "Wait at least three minutes before sending the next person through. We don't want any mishaps because one of the doors wasn't shut properly or anything. I'm going first, followed by Beth. Lucius, can you bring up the rear?"

"Of course," Lucius replied with a nod.

With plans sorted, Voldemort stepped into the cabinet, and Narcissa shut the door behind him. Shortly after the door was shut the cabinet filled with a bright light that forced Voldemort to shut his eyes, and when it faded it felt as though nothing had happened. Thinking that something had gone wrong, Voldemort pushed open the door to the cabinet, expecting to return to the room he'd just left. However, he stepped into what looked like a dusty storage cupboard, and waiting in front of him was Hermione and Draco.

"Daddy," Hermione cried excitedly, flinging her arms around Voldemort as he shut the cabinet door behind him. "I'm so pleased it worked. I was so worried in case anything went wrong."

"Nothing is going to go wrong," Voldemort replied confidently. "Trust me, everything is going to work out just fine."

Hermione nodded happily as she stepped back from her father. While Voldemort was greeting Draco, and thanking him for all his help, the cabinet lit up again and when the door opened, Beth emerged into the school. As she had with her father before her, Hermione embraced her mother.

Over the next half an hour the rest of the Death Eaters began to arrive, and Voldemort introduced them to Hermione. Of course, Hermione knew a few of them, like the Carrows and the Lestranges, but she was less than impressed when Bellatrix stepped from the cabinet.

"Ugh, what is she doing here?" Hermione asked her mother.

"Don't worry about Bella," Beth replied, giving Bellatrix a smirk that had the raven haired witch backing away.

"Wow, what have you done to her?" Hermione questioned with a laugh as Bellatrix scurried as far away from Beth as was possible. "She looks terrified of you."

"She should be," Beth said darkly. "But you don't need to worry about that now. What you need to do is think about tonight. If there's anything in your room you want to take with you, have it on you at dinner time. You too, Draco. There won't be any time for packing. If you don't have it with you, it'll be left behind."

"Will do," Draco said, before he frowned slightly. "What about my owl? I can't take him down to dinner with me."

"Can you get him back here before dinner?" Lucius asked his son. "If you can, we can send him back through the cabinet."

"I can try," Draco replied with a nod.

"If you can, we'll see you then," Voldemort said. "But if not, we'll see you both at dinner. Now off you go, before anyone notices you're missing."

"Will you be able to find your way down to the Great Hall?" Hermione checked.

"Hermione, bar your mother, we all attended Hogwarts ourselves. I think we can find the Great Hall," Voldemort replied with a chuckle.

Leaving Voldemort and his Death Eaters to make their final plans, Hermione and Draco left the storage room full of anticipation. In a couple of hours it was time to begin their plan, the plan that would ultimately enable Hermione and Harry to shed their act and embrace their true identities. Of course for Harry, his act would have to continue for another few days, but for Hermione she just had hours to go before she could let the world know that she was the daughter of Lord Voldemort, the darkest wizard in history.


	33. Chapter 33

After leaving her parents and their Death Eaters to wait until dinner time to make their move, Hermione took the cloak and map off Draco and headed to Gryffindor Tower. Since Harry wasn't yet back from his exam, she hid both the cloak and the map in his usual hiding place in his trunk and headed to her own dorm to check if there was anything she really wanted to take with her.

As well as Crookshanks, Hermione had taken a few other things back home over Easter and left them behind when she'd returned, so there really wasn't a lot of things in the dorm that she was fussed about taking. However, she did find a few things she wouldn't want to leave behind, so she found a small bag, used magic to extend it, and packed it with the belongings she shrunk to fit into it. Once the bag was full, she cast a lightweight charm on it and placed it under her pillow. She then changed for dinner, making sure she wore some trousers with a pocket, so she could slip the bag into her pocket without anyone questioning why she was carrying a bag around.

Even though Hermione was ready to go straight away, there was still a few more hours to go until dinner so she grabbed a book and headed down to the common room. However, her plans to sit and read quietly until dinner when shattered as the door opened and Harry and the other fifth years who'd taken Divination trooped into the room.

"How was it?" Hermione asked as Harry collapsed onto the sofa beside her.

"Awful," Harry groaned. "I swear half of the stuff in the exam, we've never learnt about. All bloody Trelawney was interested in was dealing with death and dire warnings, she left out the lessons about the bright and sunny futures you can predict."

"We were taught about everything in Divination," Lavender huffed. "Maybe you just didn't listen, Harry."

"Maybe because Trelawney predicted my imminent death in every single lesson," Harry grouched. "Seriously, I've taken her class for three years, and she tells me I'm going to die numerous times every year. You think she would have realised her so called powers don't work, because I'm still here."

"Just because you haven't died yet, doesn't mean you're not going to," Parvati responded. "There's still time for you to die the bloody death Professor Trelawney predicts for you."

"Well, aren't you cheerful?" Harry snapped. "Thanks for cheering me up, Parvati."

"I'm just saying these things sometimes take time to pass," Parvati replied with a shrug. "I hate to say it Harry, but since Professor Trelawney keeps seeing your death, it'll happen."

"Of course it will, everyone has to die at some point," Hermione snorted. "She's not predicting anything, she's stating a fact."

"No, it's more than that," Lavender insisted. "You don't know anything about Divination, Hermione, but we do, and we understand how it works. Professor Trelawney isn't just saying Harry will die young, she says he will die in horrible, bloody circumstances."

"Apparently with a lot of pain and suffering to go along with it," Harry supplied helpfully.

"Divination is a load of bullshit," Hermione snorted. "And Trelawney clearly gets off on trying to scare the students. Harry is not going to die a bloody death."

"Of course I'm not," Harry agreed. It was more than likely he would be the cause of someone dying a bloody death since he was part of a dark family.

"You'll see," Lavender said with a shrug. "Sorry Harry, I like you and everything, but you're doomed."

"Nitwits," Hermione muttered as Lavender and Parvati stalked off towards the dorms.

"Just ignore them," Dean said. "Lavender and Parvati love Professor Trelawney, they'd believe anything she says."

"That's because she's constantly telling them how great they are," Seamus replied with a snort. "Everyone knows Lavender and Parvati are her little pets and can do no wrong."

"Yeah, Professors shouldn't have favourites," Ron sneered, glaring at Hermione.

"And just what are you implying, Ronald?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Ron replied with a shrug. "I'm just saying Professors should be impartial."

"Never going to happen," Harry laughed. "All Professors have favourites. Some favour students in their house, and other favour students who excel in their subject. Just look at Neville, he's Professor Sprout's favourite."

"I'm sure I'm not," Neville replied, blushing slightly.

"You are," Hermione replied, smiling at Neville. "But you deserve it. You're amazing at Herbology, and Professor Sprout is just appreciative of your talent."

As the group chatted about other Professors and their favourites, Hermione smirked at Ron's scowling face. It had been very clear that he'd been implying that she was Severus's favourite because they were siblings, but no-one else brought it up. Probably because it wasn't true as everyone knew Severus favoured his Slytherins above all others.

Before too long it was time for dinner, so Hermione headed off upstairs to grab her bag. Shoving her bag in her pocket, she made sure it wouldn't fall out before she returned to the common room, where Harry was waiting for her.

"Are you all set?" He whispered as they left the common room to join the others for dinner.

"I am," Hermione replied, her nerves bubbling away inside her. "Are you?"

"I'm ready," Harry confirmed with a nod. "Let the games begin."

The pair shared a quick smile as they headed into the Great Hall and settled down at the Gryffindor table. No sooner had they settled down than Ginny arrived, squeezing herself on the bench beside Harry. Harry rolled his eyes at Hermione as Ginny immediately began chattering on to him. Suppressing a smirk when she thought about how the red-headed witch would react when she discovered the truth about Harry, Hermione turned her attention to the food that was starting to spring up on the table. In her nervous state, Hermione didn't really feel like eating, but she didn't want to draw suspicion on herself so she filled a small plate of food and began to nibble and pick at it.

Nearly half an hour later, Hermione wasn't just nervous about what was to come, but she was worried that something had gone wrong. To be honest she'd expected her father much sooner, and she wondered if something had happened since she'd left them earlier that afternoon. Maybe they'd been found, or maybe they had the timings of dinner wrong and they were going to be too late to make the splash they'd wanted.

"Relax," Harry whispered, squeezing Hermione's knee under the table. "And stop looking so tense."

Hermione nodded as she did her best to relax, and trust that her father had everything in hand. A couple of minutes later she'd managed to calm herself down slightly when suddenly the doors to the Great Hall flew open, bouncing off the walls, and causing her to jump in her seat. The action had caused almost everyone to jump, and as one everyone turned to look at the open doorway. For a minute there was nothing to see, then suddenly a dangerous looking Voldemort strode into view, flanked by half a dozen Death Eaters, including Bellatrix, who was the only one not wearing her mask.

Voldemort's appearance caused shock-waves all round, and the students began to whimper and panic. At the Professors table, Dumbledore and a few other had jumped to their feet the second Voldemort and his followers had appeared. However, before they could draw their wands, Voldemort raised his wand and a blue light swept down from the ceiling, enveloping everyone inside the Great Hall.

Hermione felt the light wash over her, and she felt the immediate effects of the spell. She now couldn't move, apart from to turn her head, and from the looks of everyone else they were in the same boat. However, because their heads were free, everyone could talk and the room was filled with worried cries and screams.

"Silence!" Voldemort bellowed.

Voldemort's shout created a wave of quiet in the room, as everyone was too afraid to speak. In fact the only noises to be heard were a few quiet sniffles of the younger students who'd been crying.

"Tom, what are you doing?" Dumbledore asked, and when Hermione turned her head she could see Dumbledore trying his best to move out of the spell her father had cast on everyone.

"There's no point struggling, Albus, the spell won't break until I release it," Voldemort said. "But don't worry, I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"Call me cynical, but I don't really believe that," Dumbledore spat, looking at the group in the doorway, and turning his head to acknowledge the smaller group of three Death Eaters that had emerged from the ante-chamber attached to the Great Hall.

"Believe what you will," Voldemort replied with a shrug. "But you have my word, no-one will be hurt here today."

"Then why are you here?" Dumbledore demanded.

"I've come to challenge you to a wizarding duel," Voldemort announced as he slowly walked further into the Great Hall.

"You expect me to duel you here, with children present?" Dumbledore snorted. "Even you aren't that rash, Tom."

"You're right, I'm not," Voldemort replied with a smirk. "The duel will take place in forty eight hours. Once I'm finished here, I will leave and you've got two days to evacuate the school. In forty eight hours, I'll return and we'll do battle to the death. So what do you say, do we have a deal?"

"You leave me with no choice," Dumbledore answered quietly.

"Albus, you can't," McGonagall gasped from beside the headmaster.

"What choice do I have, Minerva?" Dumbledore sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, Tom has me over a barrel. I can't risk him massacring the students."

"Now, now, what do you take me for?" Voldemort tutted. "I'm a fair man. I've given you forty eight hours to get the students out of Hogwarts unharmed. Although, I do also have another proposition for anyone who is interested."

"No-one here is interested in anything you've got to say," Dumbledore spat.

"Forgive me, if I want to find that out for myself," Voldemort replied, smirking at Dumbledore before he turned his back on the headmaster and swept his gaze over the student population. "I am giving everyone here a chance to join me. Pledge your loyalty to me, and leave the school with us. You won't be forced to fight or serve me in any way, but you won't be considered an enemy. Think carefully, because this is a one-time offer. If anyone truly wishes to join me, the spell on them will break when they try to stand up. But be warned, unless you truly want to pledge allegiance to me, the spell will keep you in place."

"No-one will fall for that Tom," Dumbledore spat. "No-one is going to join you."

"I will," Draco called as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Ah Draco, good to see I can rely on some people," Voldemort said, winking at the young wizard.

"We should have known he would join the dark," Ron sneered.

"Unlike you Weasley, I plan to be on the winning side," Draco remarked as he made his way over to where the Death Eaters were gathered at the bottom of the Great Hall.

"You lot won't win, you'll be crushed," Ron spat.

"Is that so?" Voldemort asked as he stalked over to the Gryffindor table, stopping behind Ginny and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Get your hands off my sister," Ron seethed.

"Such fire," Voldemort chuckled as he patted Ginny on the shoulder a couple of times before turning his back on the Gryffindors. "Does anyone else wish to join me, or is Draco the only sensible one among you?"

Hermione glanced around the Great Hall, spotting the decision on people's faces. After less than a minute, Theo rose to his feet, followed by Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise. As they made their way to the waiting Death Eaters, Blaise shot a longing look at the Ravenclaw table, which puzzled Hermione slightly. No sooner had the Slytherin boys joined the dark than Pansy got to her feet with Daphne, Tracey and Millicent. As they joined the group, Daphne tapped Astoria on the shoulder and she also got to her feet and joined them.

"What a start," Voldemort crowed as yet more Slytherins, both older and younger, started to join them. "You can start getting them out of here," He told his Death Eaters.

"Tom, don't do this," Dumbledore begged as the Death Eaters began sorting the students into groups and seeding them off via port keys.

"I'm not doing anything," Voldemort replied. "All these people are coming willingly. And just a reminder, I will take more than Slytherins. Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors are free to join us."

With that a few people from each of the other three house tables stood up. Hermione didn't know most of the people joining the Death Eaters from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but she did recognise a few of the Gryffindors who'd chosen to join her father. As more people left from the other three houses, people began to shout and plead with their friends not to join the dark, but no-one returned to their seat once they'd stood up.

"No, Luna," Ginny suddenly gasped, and when Hermione turned her head she spotted a blonde girl she vaguely recognised as a friend of Ginny's rising from the Ravenclaw table. "Please, you don't want to do this, Luna."

"Yes, I do," Luna replied in a dreamy voice as she slowly made her way to the waiting Death Eaters. When she reached them, Blaise appeared from the crowds and took hold of her hand, before they joined the queue of people waiting to leave.

"I don't believe it," Ginny whispered, her horrified eyes never leaving Luna.

Hermione quickly lost interest in Luna as it became clear the last of the students had made their choice. By this point a dozen Hufflepuffs had joined the dark, practically all of Slytherin, roughly a third of Ravenclaw and about a years' worth of Gryffindors. Everyone left was also taking stock of just how many students had joined Voldemort as the last of the students vanished from the Great Hall. By now, Draco was the only student left, standing proudly next to a masked Death Eater that Hermione suspected was Lucius.

"Just one more thing, then I'll be going," Voldemort said, turning back to Dumbledore with a devious grin. "It's not just students I've come for. Professors are also welcome to join me."

"None of my staff will be joining you," Dumbledore barked. He'd been totally helpless as he's watched dozens of students leave the castle, but at least he was confident his staff wouldn't abandon him.

"Think again," Voldemort said as Severus rose from his chair. "And don't think this is part of his double agent act. Severus was never truly with the light. I sent him to you all those years ago."

"No," Dumbledore whispered, his head turning to Severus. "Tell me it's not true, Severus."

"Of course it's true," Severus cackled. "As if I would ever abandon The Dark Lord."

"Told you he was evil," Ron muttered, glaring at Hermione as Severus made his way from the Professors table and down the hall towards where Voldemort was waiting.

"For once Ronald, you were right," Hermione said as he felt her brother stop behind her. "Is it time?" She asked innocently, looking up at Severus.

"It's time," Severus confirmed.

"No," Harry hissed, playing the part of betrayed friend perfectly as Hermione got to her feet.

"Sorry Harry, but I'm with Severus," Hermione said with a shrug. "I always have been."

"Bitch," Ron hissed.

"Watch your mouth, Weasley," Severus spat, pulling out his wand and pointing it at an immobilised Ron. "I will not stand back while you insult my sister."

"And I will not stand back while you threaten a student," Dumbledore bellowed. "Get out of here Severus, and take your sister with you."

"Now, now Albus, no need to get testy," Voldemort said. "I apologise for Severus, but he always had been rather protective of Hermione. Of course, I do appreciate it, it's always nice when your children get along."

"Children?" Dumbledore spluttered as gasps of shock echoed around the Great Hall.

"Did I not mention it earlier?" Voldemort grinned as both Severus and Hermione moved to either side of him and he put his arms around them. "I'm a father, and I have two wonderful children. Severus and Hermione are my pride and joy."

Voldemort cackled as a sea of shocked faces looked back at the trio. Casually reminding Dumbledore he would be back in forty eight hours, he turned and walked back to his Death Eaters with Hermione and Severus at his side. Without looking back the group left the Great Hall and exited the castle. They then walked down to the front gates of the school, and once they were off school premises, Lucius took hold of Draco and Beth took hold of Hermione and the group apparated away. Voldemort was the last to leave, and just before he went, he lifted the spell on those people still trapped in the Great Hall.

"Good luck, Harry," He whispered, before he too apparated away, leaving Hogwarts to deal with the revelations that Voldemort had two children, and they'd both spent time in the heart of the Order.


	34. Chapter 34

As Harry watched his family leave the Great Hall, he felt a burst of apprehension bubble up beside him. For the first time in his life, he didn't have his family in close proximity. Even though he'd been desperate to prove himself, he now found himself nervous about what lay ahead. He was now on his own, and if he got into trouble, he wouldn't have Hermione or his father on hand to help bail him out.

As all these thoughts rushed through his head, he became aware of Ginny sobbing quietly beside him. Vaguely he recognised that she'd been crying since Hermione had revealed her true colours. Across the table, Ron was muttering under his breath, and in amongst the rather colourful swear words, the redhead was muttering about how he'd always known Hermione couldn't be trusted.

Ignoring the two redheads, Harry turned to his head to face the Professors table. Dumbledore was standing staring at the doorway as though he couldn't quite believe what he'd witnessed. The other Professors looked just as shocked, and McGonagall looked so pale Harry wondered if she was going to collapse. As he was facing the Professors table, Voldemort's spell lifted off the Great Hall, and he got to witness Dumbledore slumping into his chair, looking totally defeated. Beside him, McGonagall also slumped into her seat, staring blankly out over the Great Hall.

The reaction from the Professors table was echoed pretty much all around the Great Hall, and there was a stunned atmosphere in the room. Of course it wasn't silent, and several people were quietly expressing their shock to their friends. Harry was rather surprised Ron hadn't yet started to shout and scream about what had happened, but he decided not to encourage him and he kept his attention aimed towards the Professors.

After what seemed like an age, but was probably just two or three minutes, McGonagall put her hand on Dumbledore's arm and leant over and whispered something to him. Dumbledore nodded in response before he got to his feet and cleared his throat.

"I know we're all still in shock over what had just happened, but we can't just sit around and try to come to terms with things," Dumbledore announced. "Everyone is to go back to their dorms, and pack. The Hogwarts Express will be leaving after breakfast tomorrow. No-one is to leave their dorms again tonight. Rest assured, I won't let anyone do anything to any of my students."

As people began to get to their feet to head back to their dorms, Harry got up and headed towards the Professors table. Ron was right behind him, obviously curious as to what Harry was up to. He was still muttering under his breath, but Harry was ignoring him.

"Harry, Ron, what can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked with a sigh as the two boys approached him.

"I just want to know what's going on," Harry replied. "I'm not leaving before Voldemort comes back."

"Neither am I," Ron added with a snarl. "I want to get that bitch, Hermione."

"There'll be no getting anyone," Dumbledore insisted. "And as for if you can stay, we can discuss that later. I want to convene the Order, so the pair of you can come to my office in an hour along with Ron's siblings, and we can see what our next move will be."

Harry knew he wasn't going to get anything else out of Dumbledore at the moment, so he nodded his head and turned to leave the Great Hall with Ron. Surprisingly, Ron was quiet as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Despite everything, Harry suspected he was just as shocked by Hermione as everyone else, and possibly a bit hurt at the thought that she could betray the light.

"What do we do, Harry?" Ron whispered as they reached the portrait of The Fat Lady which led to Gryffindor Tower. "How do we face everyone in there? We were her friends, and she's betrayed us all."

"We weren't to know," Harry replied.

"Weren't we?" Ron questioned. "Why didn't we question her about her life? I'm just realising that we never really knew her."

"I think that was the point," Harry answered. "I don't think we were meant to suspect. I think this was supposed to rattle us."

"It's done that all right," Ron grumbled. "I know I've been harsh on her these last few months, but I didn't seriously think she would be on the dark. I just thought she was untrustworthy since she lied about being related to Snape."

"No-one could have known," Harry said sympathetically.

"I still say someone should have picked up on the fact she was a liar," Ron said. "Although, I guess this has to be worse for you."

"How?" Harry frowned.

"Well you've been seeing her romantically, haven't you?" Ron replied with a shrug. "It must hurt knowing you've kissed the daughter of that monster."

"I have never kissed Hermione," Harry said firmly. "Nothing romantic was going on between us."

"Yeah, right," Ron snorted as he turned and muttered the password to The Fat Lady.

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron, before following him into the Gryffindor common room. Harry wasn't sure what the other common rooms would be like, but the Gryffindor one was cloaked with an air of disbelief. Even though they were supposed to be packing, it looked as though all the students were sitting around discussing what had happened and the amount of people who had left them.

When Harry and Ron entered the common room, nearly everyone stopped and turned to look at the pair. Most of the students gave the pair sympathetic looks before turning back to their own conversations, but there was a few people giving them dirty looks. Obliviously not everyone was sure that they'd been in the dark about Hermione's true identity.

"It's just so terrible," Ginny wailed as she rushed over to Harry and flung herself at him. "I can't believe Hermione is gone."

"She's not dead," Ron snapped at his little sister. "You're acting as though something tragic has happened, and she's been killed. The little bitch has shown her true colours and abandoned us. We should be mad at her, not mourning her loss."

"I'm not mourning her, I am mad at her," Ginny said as Harry extracted herself from her embrace. "I want to kill her."

"What did Dumbledore say?" Fred interrupted, not wanting his two siblings to start going on about how much they hated Hermione. They all felt betrayed by her actions, but they were still all coming to terms with what had happened and now wasn't the time to deal with the fact the girl they thought they'd known had been a lie.

"We can go to his office in an hour and find out what the Order's game plan is," Harry explained. "But I know one thing, I'm not leaving. I'm going to be here when Voldemort comes back."

"As will I," Ron said. "We're going to stand up against that monster and his family, and we're going to win."

"Even so, we should probably still pack," George said. "Even if we're not going anywhere tomorrow, we will be leaving sooner rather than later."

Harry agreed with George, more so he could head upstairs, rather than because he wanted to pack. However, the pretence of packing gave him time alone with his thoughts. Harry threw practically everything into his trunk, bar the invisibility cloak and the map, which he stuffed in his pocket and enchanted them not to fall out. By the time he was finished, it was time to head up to Dumbledore's office.

Ron had chosen not to pack, so he was still down in the common room when Harry left the boys' dorms. They were quickly joined by Ginny and the twins, and together they all set off for Dumbledore's office to find out what was happening.

When the group arrived in the office, they found Dumbledore had gathered a small portion of the Order. Molly and Arthur were present, alongside Sirius and Remus. McGonagall was also in the office, along with Flitwick and Sprout. The other members of the Order present were the Auror contingent of Tonks, Kingsley and Moody.

Entering the room, a sobbing Molly grabbed hold of her children and embraced them. She then turned her attention to Harry, and pulled him into her arms, all the time gushing about how pleased she was they were all safe. No sooner had Harry wriggled out of Molly's grasp, than Sirius pulled him into a hug, also expressing his relief that he was okay.

"Why don't we sit down and we can talk," Dumbledore said quietly. To be honest, he was still reeling with events, and he was sort of going through the motions as he tried to organise some response to Voldemort.

"First things first, I'm not leaving," Harry insisted as he sat down, well away from Molly who was still sobbing quietly and was grasping hold of Ginny's hand. It had never occurred to either him or his family that the Order might want to remove him from Hogwarts, but he was going to make sure it didn't happen.

"No-one expects you to leave, Harry," Sirius reassured his godson. "We understand that you want to be involved. As your new guardian, I'm giving you permission to stay here and be involved."

"You lot can also stay," Arthur said to his children, before they had a chance to ask. "But things might change on the evening You-Know-Who is coming back. But for now, we're all in agreement we need as many bodies as possible at Hogwarts."

"The full Order will be arriving tomorrow," Dumbledore explained. "Along with anyone else who wants to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters. But before that, our priority is safely evacuating the school."

"Have you informed the Ministry that the school is closing early?" McGonagall asked.

"No, but I'm sure Bernard Nott knows all about it," Dumbledore snarled, angry that he'd let himself think that just maybe Nott wasn't in Voldemort's pocket. "He could have even been here tonight. The only Death Eater on display was Bellatrix, the others were all hiding. I'll send him an owl tomorrow, after the train has already left. We'll also send owls to the parents of those children still here, so they know to pick them up. I also want a heavy adult presence on the train."

"I can help there," Moody volunteered. "Filius, we can co-ordinate things. You can provide some Professors, and I can provide some reliable people."

"Thank you Alastor," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Now for the rest of us. Once the train has left tomorrow, I want everyone to gather in the Great Hall. We need to search this school from top to bottom to find out how Voldemort and his Death Eaters entered the premises."

"They didn't just walk through the gates?" Remus checked.

"The wards weren't disturbed," Dumbledore said. "I have alarms set to alert me to strangers entering the premises. They didn't just walk in through the front gate."

"What about Snape?" Sirius questioned, his distaste obvious as he mentioned his former schoolmate. "Now we know for sure he was a lying scum bag, could he have helped his precious father? Could they have entered via his office?"

"Again, the wards on the school would have alerted me to so much activity on Severus's floo," Dumbledore answered. "I will check it out, but I'm confident that's not how they gained entrance either."

"It's like they just bloody apparated into the castle," Ron grumbled, before his face lit up as he considered the fact he could have solved everything. "Could they have done that?"

"Not possible," Harry answered, causing a few people to look at him strangely. "Hermione told me," He explained with a shrug. "She was always quoting Hogwarts: A History, and it says in there apparition isn't allowed on school grounds."

"Harry's quite right, no-one could have apparated either into school or onto the grounds," McGonagall said.

"And what about Hermione?" Ron asked. "She had to have known what was going to happen. Did she help them gain access to the school?"

"I think it's a strong possibility," Dumbledore admitted quietly. "It would appear Miss Granger has us all fooled. I always thought she was such a nice girl."

"I invited her into my home," Molly hissed. "I opened my arms to that girl, and treated her like family."

Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes at Molly's dramatics. As usual she was exaggerating things. In all the years the Weasleys had known Hermione, they had tolerated her because she happened to be friends with him and Ron. They'd never welcomed her into their home and treated her like family. Half of the time Molly would have forgotten about her if it hadn't been for Ginny reminding her that Hermione existed.

"We all feel the bite of her betrayal, Molly," Dumbledore said sympathetically. "We all liked and trusted her. We just have to be grateful that she doesn't know much about the inner workings of the Order. I doubt she can tell her father anything more than Severus can."

"I don't think this is about information, Albus," Moody said with a snort. "The girl was clearly here to worm her way in with Harry. This has clearly been designed to rattle Harry. Here he is, the boy destined to defeat Voldemort, and he's been best friends with his daughter for four and a half years. This is designed to hurt him. They're trying to put Harry at a disadvantage."

"I'm at no disadvantage," Harry argued.

"You say that now, but wait until you next see Hermione," Kingsley said wisely. "I guarantee, the next time you see her, all this betrayal will feel fresh as a daisy. You'll relive this pain, and before you know it, she's got you at a disadvantage."

"Kingsley's right, this is psychological warfare," Moody said. "They're planting demons in our heads. We trusted someone we shouldn't, and now look at the mess we're in. We're all reeling from the revelation that such a nice girl could turn out to be so evil."

"We've got two days to toughen up and prepare," Dumbledore said. "We all know it's going to be hard seeing Hermione again, but we have to be ready. We can't let this defeat us."

"We won't," Harry said, suppressing a smirk.

Everyone was rather shaken by Hermione's departure, so he could only imagine the disarray he was going to cause when he deserted the light. At this rate, everyone would be so shell-shocked his grandfather could take out the entire Order in a few days' time. When he left, the Order would grind to a halt, and Harry couldn't wait to see their faces when they discovered Hermione wasn't the only traitor in their midst. However, for now he had to play the part of the good boy and act devastated by Hermione's departure. He also had to make sure that no-one discovered just how Voldemort and his Death Eaters entered the school, otherwise he would have to activate Beth's escape plan, and he didn't want to do that. He wanted to carry on with the plan, and watch with glee as his grandfather took care of Dumbledore for the final time.


	35. Chapter 35

Finally revealing her true colours to the world felt so liberating for Hermione, and she was still buzzing with excitement as the group excited school and arrived back at Malfoy Manor. The second they arrived back, Voldemort barked out orders to his Death Eaters, sending them to help Narcissa deal with the students that had already arrived back. Even Beth and Severus headed off to help Narcissa deal with the students, leaving Voldemort alone with Hermione and Draco.

"You both did very well tonight," Voldemort told the pair. "As did Harry. If I hadn't know better, I would have sworn he was shocked by your departure, Hermione."

"You should know by now that he's a good actor," Hermione replied with a smirk. "We both are."

"There's no more acting needed from you," Voldemort said to his daughter. "And Harry only needs to keep up the act for a couple of days."

"Do you think he'll cope on his own?" Hermione asked with a slight frown. She had every faith in Harry being able to continent with his act, but she couldn't help but worry about the fact he was now all alone.

"He'll be fine," Voldemort said with a determined nod. "Now if you'll excuse me, I better go and make sure everything is running smoothly with the students we liberated from Hogwarts. I have to admit, more people joined us than what I thought."

"There were a few surprises," Draco agreed. He wasn't surprised by the number of Slytherins that had joined Voldemort, but he had been surprised by how many other students were willing to join forces with the dark.

"Like Ginny's friend, Luna," Hermione remarked as her father left the room, leaving her and Draco in the living room. "What was all that with Blaise? It was like he was the one behind her decision to leave."

"More than likely he was the motivation for her choice," Draco replied. "They've been hanging out together. Blaise reckons they're just friends, but I think otherwise."

"Strange pairing," Hermione muttered as she slumped down in one of the large, comfy sofas in the front room. "Granted, I don't really know Luna, but she doesn't seem like Blaise's type."

"That's what I thought, but I've been thinking about it since I found out they were friendly, and I realised Blaise had noticed her back in third year," Draco said, joining Hermione on the sofa.

"I still say they seem an odd pairing," Hermione said.

"You won't get any arguments from me on that point," Draco said with a laugh. "But they seem serious about one another, or at least I'm assuming they are considering Luna made a huge decision to follow him onto our side."

Hermione nodded, but she didn't get a chance to reply before the door to the living room opened and Draco's friends entered. Luna was also with the group, although she was standing slightly behind Blaise as if she wasn't sure what sort of reception she would receive. The Slytherins had clearly come to see Draco, but their mouths dropped open in surprise when they found him sitting next to Hermione.

"You look like a bunch of gormless apes, standing there with your mouths open," Draco remarked. "Feel free to join us when you pick your jaws up from the ground."

"Sorry," Daphne said, recovering the quickest. "We just didn't expect to see you, Hermione."

"No, we didn't," Pansy agreed. "Even though we have just seen your brother. We didn't think you would follow Snape to the dark."

"And what makes you think Severus didn't follow me?" Hermione asked with a mischievous grin.

"Did he?" Theo asked warily. While the others had perched on nearby sofas and chairs, the only place left to sit was beside Hermione, and he wasn't sure if he should sit next to her.

"No-one followed anyone," Hermione replied. "And Theo, you can sit down, I don't bite."

"Good to know," Theo said, attempting to smile at Hermione as he sat down next to her. To be honest he was still rather unsure how to react around the feisty Gryffindor, as he was very aware he'd spent the last five years insulting her, not knowing she was the sister of his head of house.

"So, do none of you guys want to go home?" Draco asked, wondering why his friends hadn't already left the manor.

"Our fathers are still helping out," Vince said, gesturing to Greg, who was sitting beside him. "So we're stuck here until they're ready to leave."

"And Narcissa said the rest of us could come and say hello before we leave," Blaise continued. "They've still got plenty of people to sort out, so we had time to come and chat for a while. And I also thought I could introduce you to Luna. I've made all the other introductions."

"It's nice to meet you, Draco," Luna said, as Blaise did exactly as he promised and introduced her to the last of his friends. "Blaise has told me so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you as well, Luna," Draco replied politely. "Although I can't say Blaise has told me a lot about you, he's kept you a secret."

"We all have secrets, Draco," Hermione chuckled. "After all, you've never introduced your friends to your girlfriend."

"Draco doesn't have a girlfriend," Pansy sneered at Hermione. "Obviously, you don't know everything, Granger."

"I know more than you, Parkinson," Hermione retorted. "And if you were smarter, you'd watch what you say around me. I'm a very dangerous person to have as an emery."

"No-one is making enemies out of anyone," Draco insisted, jumping in before the two girls came to blows. "We can all learn to get along."

"Of course we can," Daphne said with a smile. "So come on Draco, tell us about your mystery witch."

"Although we've all guessed who she is," Blaise added with a laugh.

"No we haven't," Pansy spat. "Draco does not have a girlfriend. We all know that."

"Wake up and smell the roses, Pansy," Blaise said. "It's very clear Hermione was talking about herself. She's Draco's girlfriend."

"Whoa, is that true?" Theo asked, turning to his friend. "And does that mean you knew she was Snape's sister this entire time, and you didn't warn us?"

"Yes, it's true, Hermione is my girlfriend," Draco said as he took hold of Hermione's hand. "And yes, I've known about her relationship with Severus since we were children."

"Just how long have you two known each other?" Daphne questioned.

"Forever," Hermione answered. "And I know, Draco has never mentioned me before, but that was how it had to be. My father insisted my existence was kept quiet."

"Hold on," Theo said, holding up his hand to the couple. "I thought you didn't have any contact with your father. My father told me that when everything came out about you and Snape being related, that Snape said your father had left you both and you hadn't seen him for years."

"That bit wasn't exactly true," Hermione admitted. "When we had to tell people about our connection, it took us a bit by surprise so Severus had to think on his feet. The story he told was a mixture of fact and fiction. It is true that we have the same father, but it's not true that he abandoned either of us. Father didn't know Severus was his son until Severus tracked him down and told him after he'd left Hogwarts. By then, my father had met and married my mother. I then came along, and we were one big happy family."

"So why the secrecy?" Blaise asked. "Why not just admit from the start that you and Snape were siblings, and that you're not a muggleborn."

"Because of who my father is," Hermione answered. "It wasn't safe for either me or Severus to be acknowledged at his children. But now it is, and we want to whole world to know that our father is The Dark Lord."

"Bloody hell," Theo spluttered, almost falling off the sofa in shock.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, reaching out and grabbing Theo before he went toppling off the sofa and onto the floor.

"I've been bullying the Dark Lord's daughter," Theo whispered. "I'm in so much trouble," He wailed.

"No-one is in any trouble," Hermione promised, making sure the entire group knew she was talking about them all. "Whatever you have said and done in the past, is over with. No-one is holding any grudges, especially since you didn't know who you were dealing with. We all start a fresh now, and as long as you don't insult me now, we're all good."

"Even so, we're very sorry for everything," Blaise said. "Aren't we guys?"

"Definitely," Theo agreed with a hasty nod, as everyone else, even a clearly reluctant Pansy, added their apologies. "So very sorry. I take back every bad thing I ever said about you."

"Don't worry Theo, I'm sure I deserved some of what you said," Hermione replied with a chuckle. "I can be a rather bossy, know-it-all. Can't I, Draco?"

"As if I would say that," Draco said, giving Hermione an innocent smile. "I would never say you were bossy, or a control freak, or hot tempered."

"That's enough," Hermione interrupted, giving Draco a mock glare.

"Nice to see who's in charge there, Draco," Blaise snickered.

Draco turned and gave Blaise a deadly glare, but it only caused his friend to laugh even harder at him. "Git," He muttered under his breath.

"Now, now boys, play nice," Hermione tutted, before she turned to Daphne, who'd just asked her if everyone now knew who she truly was. "Yes. After you left, Severus and I revealed everything. Now all the Order know that we're Voldemort's children."

"I wish I'd been there to see the looks on Potter and Weasley's faces when they realised what was going on," Theo chuckled.

"There faces looked something very similar to what yours did," Hermione said with a cheeky grin. "Total shock. Although no-one nearly fell off their chair."

"Only because they were stuck," Draco interjected. "If they could have moved, Dumbledore would have collapsed there and then. I think Weasley might have also fallen off his chair."

"I do wish we could have seen their reaction after we left," Hermione mused. "I bet it would have been so much fun to witness the aftermath. I guess we'll just have to settle for hearing all about it in a few days."

"How will you hear all about it?" Blaise asked with a frown.

"There's still one more surprise in store for Dumbledore," Hermione replied with a mysterious smile. "But that's all I can say on the matter."

"And I don't suppose we can persuade you to tell us more," Blaise said hopefully.

"No, I can keep a secret. I also can't be pushed into doing or saying anything I don't want to. You'll find out the full story along with everyone else in a few days, but for now the subject is closed," Hermione answered firmly.

Hermione's tone made it clear to the group that she wasn't joking, so the topic was dropped. Instead the group, minus Pansy who was sulking slightly, asked Hermione a few more questions about her life and the huge secret she'd kept for five years. However, there was only time for a few more questions before one of the Malfoys house elves arrived and told the group that Narcissa wanted them back with the others so they could go home.

"Hopefully we can hang out during the holidays," Daphne said to Hermione as they group got up to leave.

"I'd like that," Hermione replied with a smile.

Before his friends left, Draco made plans to speak to most of them as soon as possible. Hermione noticed the only one he didn't make plans to speak to was Pansy, but that was probably because she blatantly ignored Draco as she swept out of the room after Theo.

"That went well," Draco announced once the pair were once again alone.

"It did," Hermione agreed. "I think I'm going to like your Slytherin friends. Well except for Pansy, I suspect she'd going to be difficult."

"Pansy's just being Pansy," Draco replied with an unconcerned shrug. "She always sulks when things don't go her way. She didn't talk to me for over a month last year when I took Daphne to the Yule Ball instead of her. She's just annoyed that I'm now out of bounds."

"You've always been out of bounds to that girl," Hermione said with a slight snarl as she turned to face her boyfriend. "You've never done anything with her, have you?"

"Why, are you jealous?" Draco asked, smirking at Hermione as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

"Of that pug?" Hermione snorted. "I don't think so. I just want to know if you've ever kissed her, or done anything else with her."

"I swear, I have never kissed, or done anything else, with Pansy Parkinson," Draco vowed. "You're the only girl who's ever interested me. You're the only girl I've kissed, and you'll be the only girl I'll ever do anything else with."

Hermione smiled happily as she leant into Draco, her lips moving to within an inch of his. "Hmm, we might have to discuss this anything else business. I bet we can find some fun, anything else, things to do."

"I bet we can," Draco agreed with a wicked smirk, before he closed the tiny gap between their lips.

Hermione pressed herself closer to Draco as they kissed, and she moaned softly when she felt him begin to react to having her on his knee. Unfortunately, before she got a chance to explore just how she affected her boyfriend, the living room door opened again and the pair were disturbed by someone clearing their throat. When they parted and looked up, both slightly flushed, they found Beth standing in the doorway, scrutinising the pair.

"It's time we were leaving, Hermione," Beth said.

"Is Severus coming home with us?" Hermione asked as she got off Draco's lap, and bit back a laugh as her boyfriend tried to hide how aroused he had become by having her on his knee.

"Yes, Severus will be coming home with us," Beth said. "And before you ask, you can see Draco tomorrow. But for now, home."

Hermione nodded at her mother, before turning back around and giving her boyfriend a quick peck goodbye. Turning back to her mother, she found Beth watching the pair with a slight smirk on her lips.

"What?" Hermione questioned, attenuating to look innocent.

"Remind me to give you a talk about boys once everything is sorted at Hogwarts," Beth said, chuckling silently at the horrified look her daughter gave her. "It's time you learnt the facts of life, Hermione. I'm not ready to become a grandmother just yet. And don't worry Draco, I'll ask Lucius to speak with you."

Hermione and Draco shared a brief, horrified look, before Hermione was swept away by her mother. It looked like once things had been sorted with Dumbledore and Hogwarts that a sex talk was on the cards for the young couple. All they could hope was that in all the excitement that Beth forgot all about the conversation she wanted to have with her daughter, and that she would also forget to have a word with Lucius. After all, neither of the teenagers particularly wanted to discuss sex with their parents. But that was a problem for another day, right now everyone's focus was on what would be happening in a few days' time when Voldemort and his Death Eaters returned to Hogwarts for the final show down with Dumbledore.


	36. Chapter 36

It was very clear to Harry that people were still reeling from events of the previous evening when the students and staff assembled for one last breakfast. Dumbledore had made sure the Order members who weren't staff had stayed out of the way, but Harry suspected they were still around, making sure everything ran smoothly with the train departure. Harry and the other Weasleys had already spoken to their friends, so they knew that they wouldn't be leaving with them, although they'd been careful not to reveal that they would be sticking around right up until Voldemort returned.

After a tense breakfast, Harry and the Weasleys said goodbye to their friends. Once the last of the carriages left the school doors, heading down to the station, members of the Order began to appear in the Great Hall. Half the staff were missing, having being assigned to watch the students on the train along with a group of highly trained witches and wizards that Moody had organised. Some of the first members of the Order to arrive were Sirius and Lupin, who settled down at the Gryffindor table with Harry and the Weasleys.

"How are you doing?" Sirius asked his godson as he nabbed a slice of toast from the few leftover breakfast items.

"I'm still in shock to be honest," Harry replied. "I just can't believe Hermione would lie to us like that."

"We shouldn't be surprised after that stunt she pulled with Snape," Ron spat. After the shock of what had happened had worn off, he'd gone right back to hating Hermione and wanting her dead. "She's very adept at lying about her family."

"I wonder just how much was a lie," Remus mused. "I wonder how much of the story she and Snape told was true."

"I'd wager the bit about their father leaving them wasn't true," Ginny piped up. "Hermione said Snape found her and her mother when he was looking for his father. She didn't say as much, but she implied that their father wasn't around."

"Yeah, she made a big deal about how she didn't lie to us about her father, because she never mentioned him," Ron added.

"Did she never mention him?" Sirius asked.

"No," Harry replied. "Not that any of us realised that until she pointed it out."

"Yeah, it was always her mother who dropped her off and picked her up at the train station or Diagon Alley," Ginny said. "I assumed she had a father, but I never asked questions."

"None of us did," Ron muttered bitterly.

"I really don't think it would have made a difference," Remus offered sympathetically. "It's clear this whole thing has been an elaborate set up. Even asking questions wouldn't have helped you figure out who Hermione's father was. Just look at Snape, and the fact no-one knew he was You-Know-Who's son. Those sort of people are good at hiding things."

"Do you think all his Death Eaters knew about Hermione and Snape?" Fred asked.

"I don't know," Sirius replied with a shrug. "You lot were here at the big reveal. Did they seem shocked?"

"The only one not wearing a mask was Bellatrix Lestrange," George answered. "We couldn't see the reactions of the others. And it was hard to tell if she was shocked or not, she spent the entire time she was here cackling to herself."

"I would say Azkaban can do that to a person, but Bellatrix never did have the best grip on reality even before she went to jail," Sirius remarked. "As a Black, she may have been slightly more inclined to lean towards the darkness, but she grabbed it with both hands at a young age."

"She's your cousin, isn't she?" Fred checked.

"Sadly," Sirius replied. "I never did get along with her. I much preferred Andromeda. At least she had the sense not to let the family drag her down into the dark arts. I know from experience it's hard to leave your family behind, even if you don't agree with how they live their life, so I respect Andromeda for leaving the family behind and creating a new one with Ted."

"And what about your other cousin, Narcissa?" Harry asked, interested to hear what Sirius had to say about Draco's mother.

"Narcissa was always a bit of a mystery to me," Sirius confessed. "I never thought she was as devout about the dark arts, like Bellatrix, nor did she shun them like Andromeda. However, she ended up married to a man who has very dark roots. I have no idea how involved in the dark she is, but I do know that the second she got together with Lucius, he became her top priority. My advice would be to watch out for Narcissa, especially if you target her husband or son. She might not be an active Death Eater like her sister, but I think she has the potential to be even deadlier than Bellatrix."

Harry hid his amused smirk, and he reminded himself to tell Narcissa what Sirius thought of her. He knew she would get a kick out of him thinking she was more dangerous than Bellatrix. Hermione would also likely find it amusing as it was very clear that his aunt was not a big fan of Bellatrix.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Ron suddenly asked, turning the subject away from the dark.

"We're waiting for everyone to arrive, and for Dumbledore to make sure the train has set off without incident," Remus replied. "Once we're all gathered, Dumbledore has jobs for everyone."

"Speaking of everyone, where are our parents?" George asked.

"And Percy," Fred added. "I'm assuming he's going to help."

"They'll be here," Sirius replied with a slight smirk.

Before anyone got a chance to ask Sirius what he was smirking at, Ginny let out a loud squeal as she jumped to her feet. When Harry turned to find out what Ginny's problem was, he spotted Molly and Arthur entering the Great Hall with Percy at their side. However, it wasn't Percy that had Ginny so excited. Behind her parents and brother, were her two eldest brothers, Bill and Charlie. Obviously the Weasleys had called in reinforcements.

"I can't believe you two are here," Ginny squealed, throwing herself first at Bill, then at Charlie.

"We can't let you lot have all the fun," Charlie replied with a sad smile.

"How is everyone?" Bill asked.

"Angry," Ron spat. "That bitch deceived us for five years. All the time we were nice to her, and she knew her father was going to try and kill us all."

"We all feel betrayed, Ron," Arthur said softly. "We just have to put our personal feelings aside, and make sure we protect ourselves the best way we can."

"Protect ourselves, how?" Ginny asked. "She's been to our house, she can lead them right to us. And both she and Snape can lead the dark to the Order Headquarters."

"Actually, they can't," Sirius said. "Only a few selected adults can actually reveal the locations of the Headquarters. You might all know the place, but you can't say it or write to down."

As if to prove Sirius wrong, both Ron and Ginny immediately tried to say Grimmauld Place. When that didn't work, they tried to write it down, but again they were foiled.

"Okay, so headquarters is safe," Ron conceded. "But what about our home. Ginny's right, Hermione was there, she can lead her father directly to it."

"He doesn't need Hermione. He could find the place without her help," Arthur said. "Our family house isn't hidden. But let's not worry about things like that now. Right now, we need to concentrate on trying to work out how they entered Hogwarts in the first place, and stop them doing it again."

"You know what would have been useful," Remus said to Sirius. "Our map."

"What map?" Molly asked.

"When we were at school we invented a map which showed where everyone was in the school. It also showed every single hidden passageway and doorway," Sirius explained. "We could have used it to make sure we sealed every hidden entrance into Hogwarts."

"Wow, that sounds like a cool map," Fred said, in obvious awe of the map.

"Not that we've needed it," George added with a grin. "We've found all sorts of hidden passageways and entrances over the years."

"I know a few as well," Charlie supplied.

Molly gave her children an unimpressed glance, but she didn't say anything as she instead turned to Remus. "Why don't you have this map?"

"It was confiscated in our last year," Remus supplied.

"I did think Filch might still have it in his office, but Harry looked earlier this year and couldn't find it," Sirius added.

"You told Harry to look for a map so he could sneak around school?" Molly asked in outrage. "Was that really wise Sirius? Especially with You-Know-Who around. You could have gotten him killed."

"I admit, it was bit reckless," Sirius admitted sheepishly. "But it's not like he found it. Filch must have thrown it away years ago."

"We'll just have to search the castle and secure it without the map," Arthur said.

"Is that what we're doing today?" Ron asked, eager to get on and do something.

"Yes, when Dumbledore returns from Hogsmeade," Remus replied.

Ron began to mutter under his breath about Dumbledore returning, but his complaints were cut off after only a few minutes when the headmaster entered the Great Hall, alongside McGonagall.

"Did everything go okay?" Remus asked.

"It did," McGonagall replied with a nod of her head. "Filius and Alastor have everything under control on the train. Once the students are safely back in London with their families, they'll be back to help us out."

"And what about Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked. "Do we have support there?"

"Most people are wanting to stay neutral," Dumbledore admitted with a grimace. "They don't want to throw themselves in with us, and face the wrath of Voldemort and his Death Eaters if things go wrong."

"Cowards," Sirius spat. "And I'm guessing Rosmerta was firmly on the dark side now she's shagging Snape."

"I didn't speak with Rosmerta, the pub was shut," Dumbledore replied. "But we can't blame the others for wanting to remain neutral. Their homes and livelihoods are at stake if they join forces with us. It was very clear that Voldemort is running a different game this time round. His focus is the Order, and those associated with us. By staying away from us, people could save their homes and businesses."

"And by doing that, they're dooming us all," Sirius snorted. "If we don't defeat him, what do they think will happen? If he takes over, it becomes his word as law. If they then do something he doesn't like, he'll punish them and there'll be no-one to stand up for them."

"Then they'll regret not fighting," Dumbledore said with a weary sigh. "But that's not our problem today, Sirius. Right now, I want this school as secure as it could possibly get. I want every single door and window fully secured and warded. I want secret tunnels and passageways, blocked off. I do not want to give Voldemort the chance to return tomorrow evening."

"We're not leaving, though, are we?" Harry checked.

"No, we're not leaving," Dumbledore answered. "We can't risk that this won't work. We want to try and block Voldemort from returning, but unless we can definitely find out how he entered last night, we have to be prepared for the fact he could take us by surprise again."

"No, it won't be a surprise attack this time," Sirius insisted. "He might be able to get into the school without us knowing how, but this time we'll be prepared for him. We'll be waiting, and we're not going down without a fight."

Several people backed up Sirius, vowing to fight until the bitter end. Dumbledore gave the group a solemn smile, before he started sorting people into either pairs or groups of three. Harry wasn't the least bit surprised when the headmaster asked him to join him on his journey around the school. Sirius clearly wasn't happy to be separated from Harry, but Dumbledore placated Sirius by promising that Harry could join him and Remus after lunch, while Dumbledore did some work in his office.

Leaving the Great Hall, the groups all went in separate directions. Dumbledore led Harry out of the front doors, saying they needed to check the outer most wards. As they walked down to the main gates, Dumbledore was silent and Harry wondered if they would spend the morning not speaking. However, by the time they got the man gates, Harry could tell Dumbledore wanted to talk, he just needed a push to get going.

"We're not going to be able to prevent him from coming back, are we?" Harry asked, playing the part of someone who was concerned with what was happening.

"I don't think so, Harry," Dumbledore admitted with a sigh. "I've spent all night going over the security surrounding the school and its grounds, and I can't find any possible weak spots. I just can't see how they entered the castle undetected."

"You think someone was helping them," Harry concluded. In Dumbledore's shoes, it was the conclusion he would have come to.

"I do," Dumbledore whispered quietly as he set about checking the wards around the outskirts of the castle. "And I don't think Hermione has the knowledge to help with such a thing."

"But she wasn't the only dark person in our midst," Harry said, watching as Dumbledore erected a shimmering blue dome around the entire school as he reinforced the wards.

"No, she wasn't," Dumbledore agreed as the blue light on the dome faded, leaving no trace of the extra protection he'd placed around the castle.

"You think it was Snape," Harry announced.

"Unfortunately, I do," Dumbledore replied in a defeated voice. "I know you're struggling with Hermione's betrayal, and I don't blame you for that, but for me Severus's actions have caused the most damage. Seventeen years ago, he came to me begging for a second chance. Everyone told me I was wrong to trust him, but my instinct said he'd been swept up by the dark arts when he was young and vulnerable, and he deserved a second chance. I gave him that second chance in the form of a career as Potions Professor, and until yesterday I've never regretted it. To tell you the truth, I trusted Severus far more than I did other members of the Order. I think after Minerva, he was the person I trusted the most. To think he's been lying and deceiving me for all these years. It just breaks my heart."

As Dumbledore lapsed into a contemplative silence, Harry scrutinised the old headmaster. He really did believe him when he said that Severus had broken his heart. If it had been anyone else, he would have said they were exaggerating, but not Dumbledore. It had been clear for a long time that Dumbledore made snap judgements on people, and once his mind was made up, nothing could change it. He'd made the decision long ago to trust Severus, and nothing would have changed his mind on the subject of his loyalty. It was just a shame for Dumbledore that he was such a rotten judge of character, and Severus wasn't going to be the only one breaking his heart. Harry had no doubt that his own deflection would prove a severe body blow for the headmaster, and if he did somehow survive his encounter with Voldemort, he certainly wouldn't be trusting anyone ever again.

"Well, we best get on," Dumbledore announced as he cleared his throat. "And Harry, what we've just been discussing, it's just between you and me."

"Of course," Harry promised. "I won't breathe a word to anyone."

"Thank you, Harry," Dumbledore said, throwing the young wizard a small smile. "At least I know I can count on you."

"Yes, you can," Harry replied, hiding his smirk as he turned to follow Dumbledore back up to the castle where the useless job of sealing up Hogwarts would continue for the rest of the day.


	37. Chapter 37

The two day wait to return to Hogwarts seemed to drag for Hermione. Even though she was able to spend time with Draco, she was still eager to get on with things so that Harry could return home and their pretence would finally be over. Even planning for what would happen when they would return to Hogwarts wasn't enough to really keep Hermione's mind occupied.

Finally the afternoon they would be returning to Hogwarts arrived, and Hermione and Draco excitedly gathered with the adults at Malfoy Manor. The same group of Death Eaters that had gone to Hogwarts a few days earlier were all present and ready to go. Only this time they would be accompanied by Severus, Hermione and Draco. Also this time, no-one was going in masks and robes. Everyone was proudly on display as supporters of Lord Voldemort.

"Hermione, sit down and stop pacing," Voldemort ordered as his daughter impatiently paced the floor in front of the vanishing cabinet.

"What time is the cabinet supposed to be activated?" Hermione asked.

"When your nephew can get away," Voldemort answered.

The gathered Death Eaters had been informed that Severus had a son, and that he was still in Hogwarts, but his identity was still a closely guarded secret. To be honest the group were still coming to terms with the fact Severus was Voldemort's son, and Hermione was his daughter. The revelations had taken the Death Eaters totally be surprise, and Voldemort hadn't been able to help building up the anticipation about who his grandson was. It was rather amusing to hear people speculating on who Severus's son could be.

"Maybe I should have stayed with him," Hermione muttered. "What if he's struggling with the cabinet?"

"He's not an idiot, Hermione, he'll get us back into the school," Severus said.

Like Hermione, Severus had been wondering if he shouldn't have stayed behind with his son. He didn't like being parted from Harry, even though he knew his son could handle himself. Luckily the last couple of days hadn't been totally unbearable as Rosmerta had been staying with the family.

"Besides, if you'd stayed behind there wouldn't have been much point in the twin visits," Beth pointed out. "We did it this way to strike a double body blow at the order."

"I know," Hermione replied with a sigh as she slumped down on the sofa where Draco was sitting. "I'm just impatient to get going."

"You've always been like that," Beth said with a laugh. "You were born nearly three weeks early, and then you had to do everything at top speed. You were walking and talking earlier than the average child. You also learnt to read pretty fast, and when you were younger you could often read books aimed at older children."

"We get it, she's a wonder-kid," Bellatrix muttered.

"Bellatrix," Voldemort warned in a low voice as Beth turned to glare at the other witch. "Keep a civil tongue in your head when you're talking about my daughter, or else you just might lose it."

"Sorry, My Lord," Bellatrix apologised, even though she didn't sound sorry.

"I thought you'd sorted her," Hermione whispered to her mother.

"It seems like Bella has a bad memory," Beth replied, her gaze still on Bellatrix. "Perhaps she needs reminding just where she stands these days."

"Yeah, right at the bottom of the pile," Hermione said with disdain.

Beth chuckled at her daughter, and giving her hand a pat, she turned to converse with her husband. With the adults chatting amongst themselves, Hermione turned her attention to Draco. Her boyfriend had been quiet all afternoon, and she suspected he was just as worried about Harry as she and Severus had been. Either that or he was nervous about going back to Hogwarts and facing everyone, but that really didn't sound like Draco.

"Hey, are you okay?" Hermione asked, taking hold of Draco's hand.

"I'm fine," Draco replied, giving Hermione a quick smile. "Like you, I just wish it was time to go."

"And then we'll have to wait around in Hogwarts instead," Hermione joked. The plan was pretty much a replica of last time, with them waiting until dinnertime, or in this case the time dinner would normally be held, before making their presence known.

"At least we'll be back and know nothing has gone wrong," Draco replied.

"True," Hermione agreed, leaning her head against Draco's shoulder. "But we just have to wait and trust he's got everything under control."

"He will have," Draco answered with confidence as she wrapped his arm around Hermione and pulled her closer. "He won't let us down. I know he won't."

Hermione nodded in agreement as the pair sat back to wait. There was nothing more they could do now. They just had to wait for Harry to do his part, and get them back into Hogwarts.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

After a pointless day securing the wards around the school, the Order seemed convinced it was well enough protected to avoid a repeat visit from Voldemort. Even though no-one had any real ideas as to how Voldemort and his Death Eaters had gained access last time, the hope was still there that they'd done enough to stop him from coming back. Of course, not everyone was as confident, and Harry knew Dumbledore was preparing to face Voldemort in a wizarding duel.

On the day Voldemort was due to return, Dumbledore gathered the adults in the Order and began to give instructions about what was to happen if Voldemort did indeed succeed in returning to the school. Even though Harry wasn't part of the group Dumbledore was talking to, he picked up enough to know that the headmaster had issued instructions that the Order weren't to fight unless necessary. He planned on duelling Voldemort, but if he lost, he wanted the Order to back off and make sure they all survived.

"As if that's going to happen," Sirius snorted, as he told Harry when Dumbledore was saying. "If the dark come looking for a fight, then it's a fight they're going to get."

"Even if it wipes everyone out?" Harry asked.

"It won't," Sirius replied, giving Harry a reassuring smile. "We'll outnumber them. Even if You-Know-Who can get back into school, he's going to be limited with how many people he can bring with him. I'm confident we can outnumber them and take the lot of them."

"Let's hope so," Harry replied, before he left Sirius to plan strategies with Remus.

Harry was rather relieved that Dumbledore hadn't seemed to have told anyone about his grandfather's Horcruxes. Clearly the Order didn't know that they couldn't actually kill Voldemort. Dumbledore obviously thought telling them to back off and not to cause trouble would be enough if something happened to him. Then again, he was probably counting on Harry to step forward and warn the Order that Voldemort was invincible until they could destroy his Horcruxes. Sadly for Dumbledore, Harry would do nothing of the sort and by the time the headmaster met his maker, he would be back with his family on the dark.

With everyone distracted at the prospect of Voldemort returning, Harry found it easy to slip away to the secret room where the vanishing cabinet was located. Even though it had been Hermione and Draco who had activated it the previous time, Harry knew what he was doing as his father had made sure to teach him. Clearing a pathway to the cabinet, he pulled out an apple from his pocket that he'd nabbed at breakfast and placed it in the bottom of the cabinet. Shutting the cabinet door, he rubbed the handle three times and stepped back as the cabinet began to glow.

Less than five minutes later the cabinet began to glow again, and when Harry opened the door he found the apple had returned, minus a small bite. Quickly grabbing the apple, he shut the door and waited for the first person to arrive. When the glow appeared again, he didn't even have time to reach the cabinet before the door swung open and his father emerged.

"Harry," Severus cried, shutting the door to the cabinet behind him before he embraced his son. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine," Harry replied. "But it's great to see you."

"It's good to see you too, son," Severus replied with a smile, as he pulled back and checked his only son was physically okay.

"I hope you haven't been too worried," Harry said with a chuckle as out of the corner of his eye he saw the cabinet open up again, and this time Beth emerged.

"Harry!" Like Severus before her, Beth rushed over to Harry and swept him up in her arms. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Harry replied as he hugged his step-grandmother.

"We're all so proud of you," Beth said, giving Harry a peck on the cheek. "You've done great, getting us back in again."

"And no-one suspects a thing," Harry declared with a proud grin, just as the cabinet lit up again and this time Hermione emerged.

Hermione also greeted Harry with a hug, as she checked he'd been okay on his own. While Harry was catching up with Hermione, Draco arrived and it was them time to catch up with his best friend. Unlike the others, who'd immediately checked Harry was okay, Draco played it cool, but Harry could see the relief in his friend's eyes when he spotted that he was unscathed.

"And is then where I meet everyone else?" Harry asked, as his grandfather made his appearance from the cabinet, and like the rest of the family checked Harry was okay.

"It is," Voldemort confirmed, placing a hand on Harry's shoulders as they waited for the first of his Death Eaters to arrive.

The first Death Eater to emerge from the cabinet was Rodolphus Lestrange. The wizard was visibly stunned to find Harry standing next to Voldemort, and he still hadn't regained the power of speech before his brother, Rabastan, put in an appearance.

"The Potter boy?" Rabastan frowned. "Am I missing something?"

"It's not Potter," Harry answered as he removed his glasses. "It's Snape."

"Bloody hell," Rodolphus whispered. "You look just like a teenage Severus."

"How has no-one spotted that?" Rabastan questioned.

"The same way, you hadn't," Harry replied as he put his glasses back on. "A pair of glasses and the name Potter, and people see what they want."

The next batch of Death Eaters all had a similar reaction to the Lestrange brothers, shocked at first, but amazed that they hadn't spotted it sooner once they really saw the resemblance between Harry and Severus. One of the last to arrive was Bellatrix, and the instant she spotted Harry, she had her wand out and had it aimed at his throat. At the time of her arrival, Voldemort was talking to the Carrows, and wasn't at Harry's side, but he was there in a flash when he spotted Bellatrix pull her wand.

"You might want to remove your wand from Harry's throat, Bella," Voldemort said in a low voice. Around him, Severus, Beth, Hermione and Draco had all pulled their own wands out and they were aimed at Bellatrix.

Bellatrix glanced around at the wands aimed in her direction, and her obvious confusion grew deeper as Lucius stepped from the cabinet and immediately joined the others in pointing his wand in her direction.

"What is going on?" Bellatrix demanded. "Why are you threatening me when the Potter brat is standing right here?"

"Watch who you're calling a brat, Bellatrix," Severus spat.

"And I am not a Potter," Harry hissed as he raised his hand and shoved Bellatrix's wand away from his throat. In her outnumbered position, she just let her hand fall to her side when he pushed it away.

"You're The Dark Lord's grandson," Bellatrix whispered as understanding dawned on her.

"I am," Harry replied. "And next time you threaten me, you'll regret it."

"Sorry," Bellatrix muttered as she slid her wand away.

Once Bellatrix was unarmed, the others also put their wands away and backed away from the apologetic witch.

"No harm done," Voldemort said, attempting to relieve the tension in the room. "Now you all know who Harry truly is. And I will tell you the same thing, I told you about Severus and Hermione. Harry is family, and if anyone dares to cross him, they will feel the wrath of the entire family. You will treat Harry with the respect he deserves, and if you don't, you'll suffer the consequences."

Voldemort was silent for a minute as he let his words sink in, before he turned to his grandson and checked everything was in place.

"We're all set," Harry confirmed. "Dumbledore still thinks you're going to show up, but a lot of the Order think there's no way into the castle for you. Everyone will be in the Great Hall at the allotted time."

"Very well," Voldemort replied with a nod. "Thank you, Harry. You should go now to make sure no-one starts questioning you. We'll see you in a few hours."

Harry quickly said goodbye to his family and Draco, before making his way to the door. "See you soon," He called, before disappearing back to the Order to spend his last few hours pretending to be someone he wasn't. The end was nigh, the final revelations were just hours away, and Harry couldn't wait.


	38. Chapter 38

After leaving his family in the secret room, Harry had to take a few minutes to calm himself down. He was practically bouncing off the walls with anticipation, and he knew he couldn't head back to the Order in such a state. Once he was calmed down, Harry headed back down to the Great Hall. When he entered the room, he found their numbers had swelled in the brief time he'd been upstairs. Their numbers had slowly been growing since the previous day as people stepped forward to join the fight against Voldemort, however it seemed the final few hours before he was due to return had brought out some last minute supporters for the light.

Among those who'd appeared while Harry had been busy were Neville and his grandmother. Although Harry was intrigued to note that Neville didn't seem overly keen to be back at Hogwarts. It soon became clear that Neville had been dragged along by his gran, who seemed rather overbearing and bossy. Watching the way she bossed Neville around, Harry felt sorry for his friend. He was almost sure that if Neville had to choose, he wouldn't have chosen to partake in the battle against Voldemort. It wasn't like Harry thought that Neville would really join the dark, but he did think he would be more neutral if he'd had the chance to pick his own side.

As well as the newcomers, the other thing that gained Harry's attention was Ginny. He'd only been in the room for a short while when he heard her shrill voice arguing with her mother. It seemed like Molly wanted Ginny out of harm's way, whereas Ginny wanted to stay for the action.

"You can't just send me away," Ginny squealed.

"I can if I think you're in danger," Molly retorted. "You're my daughter, and I will not put you in harm's way."

"I'm in no more danger than anyone else," Ginny argued.

"Maybe not, but you're my daughter and I say you're too young for this," Molly insisted.

"How can I be too young, and not Ron?" Ginny demanded. "And you can't pull the under-age card, because he's also under-age."

"Yeah, but I'm sixteen, you're only fourteen," Ron interjected.

"I'm fifteen in August," Ginny protested. "Besides, aren't you all so convinced that nothing is going to happen? You've spent the last two days making sure no-one could enter the castle. I should be safe here."

"Yes, you should," Molly agreed. "But we can't ignore the fact that we still have no idea how You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters entered last time. As much as we want to believe it's safe, we can't take that risk."

"In that case you should be evacuating everyone," Ginny retorted. "We should all be getting out of here."

"You know it doesn't work like that," Molly said with a sigh. "Professor Dumbledore has been challenged to a wizarding duel, so he has to be here. And we're not going to leave him alone to face that monster."

"And neither will I," Ginny insisted. "Please Mum, don't make me leave. I want to be with my family."

From across the room, Harry watched as Ginny slowly wore her mother down. Even though Harry had never seen Molly back down before, she changed her mind in the face of her daughter's persistence. Harry suspected that part of Molly just wanted her family near, and that was the reason she'd backed down and allowed Ginny to stay.

"Isn't it wonderful," Ginny gushed as she ran over to Harry and threw her arms around him. "I can stay."

"It's great," Harry said as he gently pushed Ginny off him. In fact he was quite pleased that Ginny would be around to see him reveal who he truly was.

Leaving Ginny to revel in the fact she wasn't being packed off home, Harry headed off to see how things were going with the rest of the Order. After spending a bit of time with Sirius, making sure everyone knew what the plan was if Voldemort turned up, Harry settled down with Ron to wait for the moment when his grandfather would make his appearance.

The nearer the time got for Voldemort to make his appearance, the more people gathered in the Great Hall. Once Dumbledore was present, everyone gathered at the far side of the Great Hall. Harry made sure to get a prime position next to the headmaster, and of course Ron made sure he was right at Harry's side.

"Two minutes to go," Dumbledore announced in a calm voice. "Remember, no-one is to do anything to provoke the situation. We want to get out of this with as little bloodshed as possible."

Harry heard a few mumblings, and he knew a small portion of the group wanted to fight. However, he suspected that initially everyone would do as Dumbledore asked. Of course what happened once he'd revealed his true identity, or when Dumbledore died, was another matter. When that happened, all hell could break loose.

A minute later, Harry realised he didn't need to worry about how people were going to react as he felt the same spell his grandfather had released last time descend on the room. Around him, everyone else felt the spell and there were several cries of annoyance when people realised they couldn't move.

"Bastard," Sirius spat. "He's got us at a disadvantage. We're sitting ducks, here."

"Relax Sirius, nothing will happen to the rest of you," Dumbledore said. "It's me he wants."

"Actually, that's not quite true," A voice from the doorway called and when Harry turned his head around he found his grandfather standing in the now open doors.

Everyone's focus turned to Voldemort, and once he made sure all eyes were on him, he strode purposefully into the room. Just as Harry began to wonder where everyone else was, Beth appeared in the doorway. Making her way to her husband's left side, she was quickly joined by Severus, whose eyes flicked over to Harry, checking his son was okay. Hermione strode into the room next to take her place at Voldemort's right side, and as she entered the room Harry heard Ron growling under his breath. For a few seconds Harry's family stood all alone at the opposite side of the room, before the other Death Eaters started to join them, starting with Draco, who moved to Hermione's side and took her hand in his. Draco's move wasn't lost on the Order, and yet again Harry heard Ron growling quietly.

"Ah, we're all here I see," Voldemort remarked as his last of his Death Eaters gathered around him. "Nice to see you have some supporters, Albus. It's always nice to enter a duel with support."

"I see you've also got support," Dumbledore remarked. "And no masks. That's quite brave, isn't it Lucius?"

"My allegiance has never been a secret, Albus," Lucius replied with a shrug. "I just did what I had to all those years ago to avoid going to Azkaban. I couldn't leave my family, could I?"

"A man has to do what is right by his family," Voldemort agreed.

"And is that what you're doing?" Dumbledore asked with a snort. "Waging war with your family at your side? Is that really what's best for them?"

"Why don't you ask them?" Voldemort replied with a smirk. "They're all here."

"I don't care what your children think," Dumbledore spat. "They've both shown themselves to be entirely untrustworthy. Not surprising really, considering the role model they have as a father."

"Yes, they are rather devious, aren't they?" Voldemort said with a proud smile. "Beth and I are very proud of them, aren't we dear?"

"Yes, we are," Beth answered with a nod.

"Enough with the talk," Dumbledore suddenly snapped, shocking Harry by how impatient he sounded. "You came for a duel, so I say we duel."

"Not so fast old man," Voldemort said with a chuckle as he walked forward, leaving his family and followers slightly behind him. "First we need to set some ground rules. To duel you, I have to drop the spell I've currently got on your supporters. However, I will not drop that spell if I think they're going to attack my supporters."

"No-one will be attacking anyone," Dumbledore reassured the dark wizard. "But that has to go for your people as well. They cannot attack us."

"We're not here for a battle," Voldemort said, a slight smirk playing around his lips. "I'm just here to deal with you, Albus. I say, we duel and then we all walk away. If I lose, my people leave without any hassle, and the same goes if you lose."

"You want us to leave if I lose?" Dumbledore questioned in surprise.

"No, we'll be the ones leaving," Voldemort replied with a chuckle. "But whatever the outcome, we're leaving here with everyone uninjured. I give my word that we won't attack, if you give the same promise."

"You have my word," Dumbledore said. "I would shake your hand, Tom, but I can't move."

"All in good time," Voldemort replied. "So we have a deal, no-one interferes with our duel and no-one starts anything when this is over."

Voldemort looked pointedly at Dumbledore, waiting for him to get everyone on his side to give their word. Once they'd done so, some of them very reluctantly, Voldemort turned to his people and made them give the same promise. Again some of them gave the promise reluctantly, but they all gave it, at least they did until Voldemort turned to Severus.

"You're not going to cause trouble are you son?" Voldemort asked with a stern glare that Harry could tell hid his amusement.

"Not unless they cause trouble first," Severus replied. "But before we begin, I just want one thing."

"Ah yes," Voldemort exclaimed as he wheeled back to face the light. "I hate to say Albus, but you're not the only reason we're here. We've also came to pick up the final member of our family."

Harry heard the gasps all around him, and glancing around he found everyone else was doing the same, looking at everyone else with suspicion in their eyes. As the noise began to grow, Dumbledore snapped for people to be quiet.

"I don't understand, Tom," He said slowly. "You took your children last time you were here."

"I did," Voldemort agreed.

"But this time we're here for my son," Severus said as he stepped forward. "He's done his job and let us back into the castle, and now it's time for him to come home."

"You don't have a son," Sirius spat at his former school enemy. "No-one would go anywhere near you."

"That's where you're wrong," Severus said with a smirk as he stopped next to his father. "I'm sure most people who were around years ago know all about my feelings for Lily Evans."

"Potter," Sirius corrected with a snarl. "She was a Potter. She married James, and kicked your sorry arse to the curb. All Lily felt for you was pity."

"Maybe at one time, but that all changed when I connected with the Order," Severus explained. "I came back into her life, and all her old feelings came rushing back. It was my bed she was in, and it was me she was planning on running away with."

"Nonsense," Remus snorted. "Lily was happy with James and Harry. She had a family."

"Yes, she did have a family, and Potter wasn't part of it," Severus said. "The night she died, she was going to leave him. She was leaving Potter and bringing our son with her. We were going to be a family, myself, Lily and our son, Harry."

Harry felt everyone's eyes turn to him, but because they couldn't move he didn't feel in any danger. Instead he slowly felt his grandfather's spell lift, meaning he could move. Taking a few steps forward, he turned and faced the stunned Order. With a smirk, he removed his glasses and threw them to the ground.

"I guess I won't be needing these anymore," He declared.

"Harry, what have they done to you?" Sirius whispered in a broken voice. "This isn't true, they're lying to you. James is your father, not that bastard."

"Don't you dare speak about my father like that," Harry yelled, pulling out his wand and pointing it at Sirius. "Not one of you know the truth about who I am. Severus is my father, not James Potter. James Potter killed my mother, and I just wish he was alive today so that I could return the favour."

"James did not kill Lily," Remus insisted. "The Dark Lord killed your parents."

"No, Lily was already dead when we arrived at her house," Severus said quietly. "Potter killed her, he admitted as much before I killed him. I would show you my memories, but I don't have to prove myself to any of you. We all know the truth."

"Yes, we do," Harry said as he walked over to Severus and stood in between his father and grandfather. "And the truth is, Harry Potter doesn't exist. Your saviour, is gone. I spent five years hiding my true identity, but not any-more. The time for hiding is over."

Harry took a moment to take in the sight of the stunned Order watching him. Some people, like Molly and Ginny, were openly crying, while others, like Ron and Sirius, just looked shell-shocked. With a final smirk to his former friends, Harry turned with Severus to walk back to where Beth and Hermione waited. However, he and his father had barely taken two steps when a voice stopped them.

"Harry," Dumbledore called softly.

Turning back, Harry smirked at how broken the headmaster looked. Dumbledore looked to be on the verge of tears, and the quiver in his voice was evident for the entire room to hear. He was shaken up there was no doubt about it.

"Yes headmaster?" Harry asked.

"Was it all a lie?" Dumbledore whispered.

"Everything," Harry answered sharply. "I was never your good little saviour. And did you honestly think I would be after what you did to me? You took me from my home, and gave me to relatives who didn't even want me, all the time spreading lies about how I was going to save the wizarding world. You left me for ten years, never bothering to check up on me, and then you expected me to fall at your feet and do anything you said. And don't think I didn't see all your manipulations when I first started school, sending Hagrid to help me get my school things, all the time telling me how evil Slytherins were. Then the Weasleys, who just happened to be entering the station the muggle way. Did you really think that fooled me? I knew what you were doing. You were trying to manipulate me, so we let you think it was working. I befriend Ron, just like you planned. The only problem was, I had an agenda. This was all an act, to get you to trust me and think I was on your side. And do you want to know the really funny thing. You could have stopped this. All you had to do was go and check on me once you left me at the Dursleys, and you would have found I wasn't there. Of course, you might have bought all the trickery we'd put in place, but maybe not. Maybe you would have spotted something fishy. But we'll never know, because you abandoned me in the muggle world, not interested in me until I could do something for you. Well guess what, I'm going to do something for you, headmaster. I've led you to your death."

As he was talking, Harry could see Dumbledore becoming more defeated. With every word the headmaster crumbled, and by the time he was finished, he had his head bowed in shame. Although more interestingly, a few people were scrutinising Dumbledore, clearly thinking about what Harry had been saying. It was clear that not everyone knew how Dumbledore had abandoned him when he was just a child. Clearly there were some things, Dumbledore had kept to himself, and the fact he'd thrown him into the muggle world without even checking on him for a decade was one of those things he'd kept quiet about.

Satisfied there was nothing more he could do to dent Dumbledore before his duel, Harry gave his grandfather a subtle nod before he turned and headed back to his family. After greeting both Beth and Hermione with a hug, he stood himself proudly in between Beth and Severus to watch as his grandfather duelled Dumbledore. It was going to be some duel, and he had a front row view, only this time he was finally on the right side. He was back with the dark, where he belonged.


	39. Chapter 39

Harry's deflection to the dark totally stunned the light, and they watched in bewilderment as he joined the ranks of The Dark Lord's followers. As they took in the news, the group had differing reactions to Harry and his true identity.

Molly and Ginny had let the tears fall as soon as the truth about Harry was revealed, while the rest of the family had looked on in disbelief. The Weasleys disbelief was echoed around the staff of Hogwarts, as they tried to comprehend how a boy they'd known for five years could really be the grandson of The Dark Lord. As for poor Ron, he was numb as he tried to accept that his best friend had been using him for five years.

Despite trying their best to deny what they were seeing, Sirius and Remus were also slowly accepting the truth. They didn't want to believe Harry wasn't James's son, and that Voldemort was only using him, but deep down they knew they'd been told the truth. They knew Severus well enough to know that no matter what Voldemort wanted, he wouldn't lay claim to James's son. If he'd raised Harry as his son, then tests had undoubtedly been done to make sure that Harry was indeed Severus's offspring. Plus there was no denying his similarity to Severus once he'd removed his glasses.

Aside from Ron, the person most affected by Harry's deflection was Dumbledore. It had been a body blow when the truth had started to be revealed, but Harry's scathing speech moments ago had Dumbledore reeling. For the first time he could see how much Harry hated him, and he wondered why he hadn't seen it sooner. Was he really so self-involved that he couldn't spot when a young boy was playing him? Maybe he just trusted people too readily, and in future he would have to think about who he let into his life.

"Are we ever going to do this?" Voldemort questioned in a bored drawl as Dumbledore and the Order stood on the opposite side of the room, looking totally blown away.

"You're the one who has us unable to move," Dumbledore retorted, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Fine," Voldemort replied. "I'll release the spell, and then this duel will go ahead. But remember the rules of a wizarding duel people. No interfering with the duel. This is between myself and Albus."

"Release me and we can set a perimeter for the battle," Dumbledore said.

Voldemort glanced over his shoulder, and seeing Beth, Severus and Lucius all had their wands at the ready, he turned back to the Order and released them from his spell. People immediately began to move, bunching up together right at the back of the room. Molly pulled Ginny into her arms as Arthur stood protectively beside his wife and daughter. The only person who didn't move was Ron, who was still standing frozen in place. Seeing his brother was still in shock, Charlie grabbed hold of Ron and pulled him back to stand with the rest of the family.

While the Order backed up, Voldemort's supporters stayed where they were. However, they also had to back up a few steps as Dumbledore and Voldemort set the perimeter of their battle field. Once they'd sorted out a space, they cast a spell so their magic wouldn't leave the area and hit those watching the duel. It also meant that no-one could step into the arena and interfere with the battle. The final effect of the spell meant that the barrier surrounding the battle area wouldn't break until the end of the duel. And of course the end of the duel would only come when either one of the participants were killed as this would be a duel to the death.

"I hope everyone enjoys the show," Voldemort announced with a smirk as he took his place for the duel.

"Enough grandstanding Tom, let's get on with this," Dumbledore snapped.

"As you wish," Voldemort replied.

Taking a deep breath, Voldemort bowed to Dumbledore. Dumbledore lowered his head in return, and as one they raised their wands. A hush of anticipation filled the Great Hall as Voldemort threw the first hex at Dumbledore. Dumbledore was able to parry the hex with ease as he threw his first curse at Voldemort. For a few minutes the pair exchanged minor curses and hexes, and the crowds began to get bored with the lack of action. Well the dark side was bored, the light side were just pleased Dumbledore was holding his own after the shock he'd just received.

"I thought this would be quicker," Hermione remarked as she watched her father and Dumbledore slowly test what the other one had to offer. "Before this started, Dumbledore looked a wreck. At one point I could have sworn he was going to cry."

"Have patience, dear," Beth said with a low chuckle. "Your father is just getting warmed up. Believe me, when he turns it on Dumbledore won't stand a chance."

A couple of minutes later, Hermione saw the first signs of her mother being proved right. Voldemort's curses were coming at a faster speed and they were growing in intensity, while Dumbledore was looking increasingly unsure. The harder he had to fight to keep Voldemort at bay, the more it looked as though what had happened with Harry was starting to affect him. Of course it didn't help that Voldemort had deliberately situated himself near to where his grandson was standing, so Dumbledore had to see Harry standing with the enemy every time he wanted to hurl a hex at Voldemort.

It didn't take Harry long to work out he was directly in the headmaster's line of sight, so every time Dumbledore looked his way, Harry would make sure to give him a wicked smile. Slowly Harry could see Dumbledore getting increasingly rattled by his presence, and judging from the nervous noises his supporters were making, the Order noticed it as well. Less than fifteen minutes into the battle it was clear to everyone in the room that unless Dumbledore could get a hold of his senses then he was going to lose the duel, and lose it quickly.

"Can you not cope any more old man?" Voldemort taunted, before hurling a wall of fire at Dumbledore.

Instead of replying, Dumbledore retaliated by hitting Voldemort's wall of fire with his own wall of water. Within second the two elements were battling fiercely, both wizards doing their best to control the spells. The result was a spectacular mix of water and fire roaring around the middle of the Great Hall, with Voldemort and Dumbledore trapped inside the two spells. The only down side for the dark was that the spells blocked Dumbledore's view of Harry, and without having to see the boy who'd betrayed him as he fought, some of his old fight began to reappear.

"Now we've got a battle on our hands," Sirius called loudly as the blue of the water began to overpower the blazing orange fire coming from Voldemort's wand.

Now it looked like Dumbledore had the upper hand, Hermione looked over at her mother in concern. If Beth was concerned she wasn't showing it, she was standing looking as calm as ever and beside Harry, Severus had the same calm expression. Hoping that her brother and mother were right not to be worried, Hermione refocused her attention on the duel taking place in front of her.

As Hermione turned back to the fight, the fire from her father's wand seemed to retreat. Sucking in a breath she waited for Dumbledore to continue to press forward with his wall of water, but suddenly an amazing blast of fire blazed from her father's wand. The move was so unexpected and fierce, the fire swallowed up Dumbledore's spell and blasted the headmaster off his feet. The second Dumbledore was down, Voldemort ceased the fire spell and strode purposefully over to the fallen headmaster.

From where they were standing the dark expected Dumbledore to get to his feet, or at least retaliate, but what they couldn't see was that the old man had been injured when he'd been blasted off his feet. He didn't even have the strength to lift his wand and try and protect himself as Voldemort approached him.

"You really should have just stayed out of things, Albus," Voldemort said with a sad sigh. "You never could leave things, could you? You always had to play the hero. And just look where it's gotten you. You're about to meet your maker, flat on your back, unable to defend yourself."

"I did defend myself," Dumbledore whispered in a defeated voice. "You just got the better of me. Enjoy it while it lasts Tom. You may have won the battle, but the war isn't over. You can kill me, but my Order will fight on."

"Without you, your Order are nothing," Voldemort scoffed as he raised his wand and pointed it at the headmaster one final time.

"We shall see," Dumbledore replied, the words barely leaving his lips before a shot of emerald green light hit him square in the chest.

Dumbledore's death was met by two differing reactions from the two groups. The Death Eaters cheered loudly, while the Order cried out in anguish, and in some cases broke down in tears. Dumbledore's death also ended the spell that had surrounded the duel area, and the second the spell was down, Hermione was at her father's side, congratulating him. The rest of the family also made their way to Voldemort, and they were so busy celebrating they failed to see Ron breaking away from his tearful family.

Ron crossed to where Voldemort and his family were celebrating without anyone noticing him. However, when he raised his wand and pointed it at Harry, Severus spotted the redhead and jumped into action. Putting himself in between Ron and his son, he blasted the redhead off his feet before Ron had the chance to cast any sort of spell.

"Try that again and you'll regret it," Severus snarled as Ron hit the far wall, banging his head off the stones and slumping down onto the floor.

"Keep away from my son," Molly cried, leaping into action at the sight of Ron being blasted across the room.

Before anyone could stop her, Molly hurled a curse at Severus. Since he was facing Ron, Severus only caught Molly's movements out of the corner of the eye and he couldn't move quick enough to defend himself. Luckily, Beth had been alert and she stepped in front of Severus, putting a shield charm up just at the curse reached her stepson. Molly's curse flew into Beth's shield charm and ricocheted off, flying right back to where the Order were gathered, hitting Tonks in the shoulder. As Tonks went down, blood seeping from the nasty wound in her shoulder, Beth took the opportunity to knock Molly off her feet.

"Stay away from my family, you crazy, fat cow," Beth hissed, looking every bit as menacing as her husband.

"Do not speak to my wife like that," Arthur shouted as he leapt forward.

"Enough!" Voldemort bellowed, quickly placing a barrier between the two groups before an all-out battle broke out. "We all agreed on no fighting after the duel, and we're going to stick by that. We're people of our word, and we want people to know that."

"How can you say that when my wife and son have both being injured?" Arthur spat. "Not to mention, Tonks. Her shoulder has been cut wide open."

"You have your wife to thank for that, she threw the curse," Voldemort replied. "And as for the rest, take a look at your son, he started this. We weren't going to attack, but he was. Severus and Beth were protecting our family. Maybe you need to have a talk with your son Weasley, and make sure he knows not to mess with my family in the future." Voldemort gave Arthur a final glare, before he raised his voice and addressed the rest of the room. "We'll be leaving now, and there'll be no more trouble from us."

"There will be from us though," Sirius shouted. "Don't think this is over. You've killed a good man today, and we will get our revenge. We will not rest until you and your family are all dead."

"Just as long as you know, any strike against my family and you will feel my personal wrath," Voldemort warned. "Just a wise word to you all. Don't fight us, and you'll have a peaceful life. Fight, and we'll fight back, and I can guarantee we will win. Think carefully before you take us on, it just might be the last thing you do."

With his ominous warning ringing in the ears of the Order, Voldemort turned and ushered his Death Eaters from the room. The family were the last to leave, and just as they reached the doorway, Ron's weak voice called Harry's name. Turning round, Harry found Ron was still slumped against the wall, with several of his brothers surrounding him, but his focus was on them.

"Please don't do this," He begged quietly. "I know this isn't you, Harry. They've got your brainwashed. I know you're not a bad person. The Harry I know, is a good guy."

"The Harry you knew was an act," Harry snorted. "Have you not got it yet, Ron? I was never your friend. I befriended you because it was clearly what Dumbledore wanted me to do. I never truly liked spending time with you. I did what was necessary to maintain my cover. But now it's over and I can be myself, and the real me does not have losers like you as a friend."

Harry felt a stab of triumph as he saw a lone tear fall out of Ron's eye and streak down his cheek. Leaving a sobbing Ron to wallow with his family, Harry turned and exited the castle with his. Finally the truth was out, and even though the Order threatened to fight, Harry wasn't taking their threat too seriously. After all, they didn't have a clue how to defeat his grandfather. Without Dumbledore the light side were fighting a losing battle.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

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Several hours after events at Hogwarts, Sirius was still reeling from what had occurred. He still couldn't believe that his godson had turned out to be so evil. And the worst thing was, he'd never seen any signs of Harry's true nature. He'd convinced himself that Harry was like James, when really he was nothing more than a snake in the grass like his true father.

Sitting at the kitchen table in Grimmauld Place, Sirius was lost in his own thoughts as several members of the Order bustled around the house. It was still safe to use the house as headquarters since only Dumbledore and a select few adults, all of whom were still alive and trusted, could actually reveal the location of the headquarters so they weren't at any risk of being raided.

Sirius remained sitting at the table until finally he was alone. With the rest of the Order either gone, or settled in one of the rooms upstairs, Sirius retrieved the box Dumbledore had given him weeks before his death. The box had entered his mind almost as soon as he'd returned home, but he'd put off retrieving it until everyone had gone. Returning to the kitchen, where he planned on opening the box, he found an exhausted looking Remus sitting at the table.

"How's Tonks?" Sirius asked. Remus had been helping tend to the young Auror since their exit from Hogwarts.

"She'll live," Remus replied. "The curse was a nasty one, and it tore her shoulder to shreds. Until it heals completely we won't know if she'll lose any mobility in her arm."

"At least she's alive," Sirius said sadly.

Remus nodded in agreement, and as he did so, his eyes fell the box his friend had placed on the table. "What's that?"

"Something Dumbledore gave to me," Sirius answered. "He brought it a few weeks ago, when we thought Harry would be here over the summer. He told me it contained valuable information, and that Harry and I were to look through it over the summer. I was waiting for Harry to open it."

"Since that's never going to happen, what do you say we take a look?" Remus suggested.

"Let's hope it's going to be something useful," Sirius remarked as he opened the box the headmaster had left for him.

In the silence of the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, Sirius and Remus delved into the box and found that Dumbledore had handed them a lifeline. He may have been killed, but he'd left behind some valuable knowledge. He'd left the light with a way of killing Voldemort, now all they had to do was carry on with Dumbledore's work and snuff out the dark once and for all. For his parting gift, Dumbledore had left the Order with the most valuable thing they could have received – hope. Hope that one day they would defeat Voldemort and rid the world of his evil followers and his equally evil family.

 **T** **h** **e** **E** **n** **d** **.**

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 **A/N – Thank you to everyone for reading and for your great reviews. I'll be back in a few weeks with year six.**


	40. sequel notification

**A/N – Children of the Dark – Year 6 is now up.**


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